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THE  LIFE  OF 
ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://archive.org/details/lifeofisaaceddybOObowm 


Is  we  ].])\)\    Brown 


THE  LIFE  OF 

ISAAC   EDDY   BROWN 


AN  APPRECIATION 

BY 

LOUIS  A.  BOWMAN 


ASSOCIATION    PRESS 

New   York:    347   Madison   Avenue 
1926 


Copyright,  1926,  by 

The  General  Board  of 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 


Printed  in  the  United  States 


Dedicated  to 
MARY  JOHNSON  BROWN 

FOR  THIRTY-SIX  YEARS  THE  DEVOTED  COMPANION  AND 
CONSTANT  INSPIRATION  OF  HER  HUSBAND,  AND 
WHOSE  INESTIMABLE  ASSISTANCE  IN  EVERY  TASK  UN- 
DERTAKEN CONTRIBUTED  SO  LARGELY  TO  THE  SUCCESS 
OF  HIS   LIFE  WORK 


FOREWORD 

Every  generation  discovers  a  few  men  of  out- 
standing character,  faith  and  works.  The  man 
whose  life  is  pictured  in  this  brief  volume  was  a 
leader  of  rare  influence  and  power  in  his  generation. 

His  was  a  truly  contagious  character.  It  was  nat- 
ural for  men,  and  especially  young  men,  to  seek  his 
companionship  and  wise  counsel.  How  many  young 
men  the  world  round  will  look  back  upon  those  mo- 
ments of  encouragement  when  their  life  touched  his 
in  the  fellowship  of  the  classroom,  or  under  the  trees 
on  the  shore  of  Lake  Geneva  or  through  the  nearly 
thirty  years  of  his  stewardship  as  State  Secretary 
for  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  work  in 
Illinois! 

The  author  of  this  memorial  to  a  sincere  and  true 
life  has  been  able  to  assemble  much  of  that  intimate 
and  reflective  data  with  wThich  he  has  been  able  to 
paint  a  picture  of  a  man  whose  life  had  been  given 
in  complete  surrender  to  the  will  of  God. 

Isaac  Eddy  Brown  was  possessed  of  many  rare 
gifts  of  mind  and  heart.  Each  of  these  gifts  was 
cultivated  with  patience  and  persistence  in  order 
that  his  life  investment  might  become  fuller  and 
richer  with  the  passing  years.    Reference  is  made  to 


vi  FOREWORD 


many  of  the  small  and  apparently  trivial  things  in 
the  life  of  Dr.  Brown.  To  him  nothing  was  too 
small  to  escape  being  well  done. 

One  of  his  chief  ambitions  was  to  discover  and 
train  by  wise  coaching  and  experience  a  leadership 
which  would  be  competent  to  carry  on  in  the  grow- 
ing movement  to  which  he  had  pledged  his  life. 
There  was  no  minimizing  of  weakness  and  failure, 
but  there  was  always  the  word  of  encouragement  to 
inspire  confidence,  a  confidence  which  inevitably 
leads  to  "forgetting  those  things  which  are  behind 
and  reaching  forth  unto  those  things  which  are  be- 
fore," and  of  "pressing  toward  the  mark  for  the 
prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus." 
One  of  his  favorite  hymns  was  "God  Send  Us  Men." 

Those  of  us  who  shared  with  him  in  the  joys  and 
discouragements  of  life  and  of  service  are  ready  to 
pay  sincere  tribute  to  his  unfailing  and  unquench- 
able faith.  It  was  a  faith  which  verily  removed 
mountains  of  difficulty  and  paved  the  way  to  those 
abiding  compensations  which  are  the  aim  and  goal 
of  God's  faithful  stewards.  To  that  much  larger 
group  who  will  become  acquainted  with  this  highly 
multiplying  personality  through  the  reading  of  these 
pages  we  would  wish  that  the  simplicity  and  the 
loyal  devotion  of  his  life  to  a  great  cause  might  be 
communicated  to  you  and  to  the  generations  which 
follow  in  his  steps. 

K.  A.  Shumaker. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.   General  Outline  of  His  Life 1 

II.   Ancestry 4 

III.  Parentage 8 

IV.  Removal  to  Illinois:   Older  Boyhood     ....  16 
V.   Student  Years  at  Normal 25 

VI.   Beginnings  in  His  Life  Work 28 

VII.   Early  Reconstruction  Efforts 33 

VIII.   The    First    Decade:    First    Convention    Paper — 
Early     Visitation — Associations     for     Special 

Classes — Sorrow  and  Bereavement     ....  35 

IX.   An  Important  Decision  Reconsidered 46 

X.  The  Second   Decade 49 

XL   The  Third  Decade 52 

XII.   Devotion  to  His  Field:   Service  at  Conventions 

and  Conferences 59 

XIII.  His  Work  at  Lake  Geneva 63 

XIV.  His  Home  Life 69 

XV.   Service  to  His  Home  Church  and  Denomination 

— As  a  Citizen 75 

XVI.   A   Man   of  Prayer 78 

XVII.  His  Regard  for  the  Sabbath:   A  Man  of  Senti- 
ment— Far  Sighted  and  Forehanded   ....  84 

XVIII.  As  a  Public  Speaker 91 

XIX.  Fondness  for  and  Participation  in  Athletics  .     .  96 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XX.  A  Man  of  System 102 

XXI.   A  Student  and  a  Scholar  :  As  a  Teacher— On  the 

Faculty  of  YMCA  College 104 

XXII.   A  Lover  of  Travel:  As  a  Writer  and  Editor — His 

Strength  in  Trial— His  Generous  Nature  .     .  113 

XXIII.   The  Closing  Years — Serving  the  Association  Col- 
lege    119 

XXIV.   A  Personal  Testimony 121 

XXV.   Summary — a  Remarkable  Life 124 


INTRODUCTION 

These  pages  have  been  written,  not  as  a  complete 
history  of  the  life  of  Isaac  Eddy  Brown,  but  more  as 
an  estimate  of  his  strength  of  character,  an  interpre- 
tation of  his  life,  and  an  analysis  of  the  qualities  of 
leadership  which  made  him  through  four  decades  a 
most  influential  factor  in  the  development  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  movement,  par- 
ticularly in  Illinois  and  also  throughout  our  country 
and  the  nations  of  the  world.  For,  of  all  the  men 
who  have  chosen  service  in  this  organization  as  a 
life  work,  none  more  perfectly  illustrated  the  sym- 
metrical development  of  body,  mind,  and  spirit,  than 
did  he.  No  life  devoted  to  the  movement  has  con- 
tributed more  of  inspiration,  of  practical  idealism, 
more  of  rugged  lessons  in  the  courageous  under- 
taking of  large  tasks  than  has  his,  and  none  is  more 
worthy  of  close  study  and  emulation. 

So  far  as  possible  minor  details  and  routine  have 
been  omitted ;  occasionally  they  do  appear,  but  only 
because  of  illustrating  some  important  principle. 

It  is  hoped  that  this  brief  summary  of  his  traits 
of  character  and  of  his  work  will  be  of  value  to  all 
those  who  are  engaged  in  the  field  of  usefulness  to 
which  his  talents  were  devoted,  and  particularly  to 

ix 


INTRODUCTION 


those  who  contemplate  entering  similar  service,  or 
who  are  receiving  their  special  training  for  it.  For 
an  intimate  knowledge  of  his  life,  his  work,  his 
character,  and  his  achievements,  together  with  his 
devotion  to  the  highest  ideals  in  life  and  in  service 
and  his  supreme  emphasis  upon  the  importance  of 
making  the  spiritual  note  the  dominant  one  will 
contribute  largely  to  the  mental,  moral,  and  spiritual 
equipment  of  any  man,  who,  studying  it,  seeks 
thereby  to  render  the  largest  service  to  his  fellow 
men. 


THE 
LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

CHAPTER  I 

General  Outline  of  His  Life 

Isaac  Eddy  Brown  was  born  in  the  little  village  of 
Kiantone,  Chautauqua  County,  N.  Y.,  May  17, 
1849.  Here  his  early  boyhood  was  spent.  He  at- 
tended the  village  school,  and  was  busy  out  of  school 
hours  in  farm  work.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he,  with 
his  parents,  came  to  Illinois  wrhere  he  resided 
throughout  his  life  and  did  his  life's  work.  His 
teen-age  years  were  spent  near  Lee  Center  and 
Sublette,  in  Lee  County,  wThere  he  continued  his 
studies  and  his  farm  work.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he 
decided  to  make  the  teaching  profession  his  life 
work.  After  several  years  of  teaching  at  Lee  Center 
and  at  Amboy,  he  entered  the  Illinois  State  Normal 
University  at  Normal,  111.,  graduating  in  1874,  hav- 
ing earned  his  way  through  the  institution  by  the 
hardest  labor. 

After  graduation,  he  became  principal  of  the  high 
school  at  Decatur,  111.,  in  which  position  his  rare 
qualities  as  an  educator,  and  his  strong  influence  as 

l 


2  THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

a  leader  in  Christian  activities  early  made  him  an 
outstanding  personality  in  the  community.  He  was 
early  chosen  as  President  of  the  local  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association ;  his  qualities  of  leadership  and 
his  earnest  consecration  in  Christian  service  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  Robert  Weidensall,  pioneer 
Secretary  of  the  International  Committee  of  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations.  In  1880,  upon  the 
recommendation  and  earnest  request  of  Mr.  Weiden- 
sall, he,  at  the  age  of  thirty,  consented  to  become 
State  Secretary  of  the  Illinois  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Associations.  Throughout  the  following  thirty 
years  he  fulfilled  the  exacting  duties  and  met  the 
heavy  responsibilities  of  this  position.  In  1909,  he 
accepted  the  invitation  of  the  trustees  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  College  to  become  Dean 
of  the  Secretarial  Department  of  the  College.  Here 
he  served  for  the  last  eight  years  of  his  life,  again 
employing  all  his  rare  qualifications  as  a  teacher 
and  bringing  great  enrichment  to  the  lives  of  stu- 
dents in  preparation  for  their  life  calling. 

On  July  8,  1917,  after  a  lingering  illness,  his  sum- 
mons to  the  shores  eternal  came  and  he  went  to  his 
reward,  beloved  by  thousands  in  this  and  other  lands. 

The  funeral  service  was  held  at  his  home  church, 
the  Third  Congregational  of  Oak  Park,  111.,  and  was 
attended  by  scores  of  lifelong  friends  and  neighbors 
and  by  many  fellow  workers  in  all  departments  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  local,  state, 
international,  and  the  College.    Addresses  were  given 


GENERAL  OUTLINE  OF  HIS  LIFE  3 

by  his  former  pastor,  the  Rev.  Arthur  H.  Armstrong; 
and  by  his  intimate  friend  and  close  associate  for 
thirty  years,  L.  Wilbur  Messer,  General  Secretary 
of  the  Chicago  Association.  Both  were  eloquent, 
heartfelt  tributes  to  his  personality  and  character 
and  to  his  life  work  of  sacrificial  service  and  devo- 
tion to  the  highest  ideals.  Burial  was  at  his  former 
home  at  Decatur,  111.,  where  his  grave  is  appropri- 
ately marked  and  frequently  visited  by  Association 
and  other  friends. 

The  following  chapters  give  a  more  detailed  narra- 
tive of  his  service  in  these  places  of  leadership,  and 
of  the  chief  characteristics  of  his  singularly  devoted 
and  useful  life. 


CHAPTER  II 

Ancestry 

He  was  the  oldest  child  of  Russell  M.  Brown  and 
Electa  (Sherman)  Brown,  who  were  sturdy,  indus- 
trious, God-fearing  folks  of  the  pioneer  type.  They 
were  descendants  of  the  earliest  New  England  set- 
tlers, the  ancestral  record  tracing  back  to  Miles 
Standish,  William  and  Alice  Mullins,  John  and 
Priscilla  (Mullins)  Alden,  five  of  the  immortal  group 
of  Mayflower  passengers;  and  to  John  Sherman,  his 
son,  Noah  Sherman ;  to  Josiah  Ward  and  to  Nathan 
Eddy — all  soldiers  in  the  war  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution. His  parents  were  deeply  religious,  retaining 
a  generous  measure  of  the  Puritan  spirit  of  their 
forefathers,  and  rearing  their  children  in  accord  with 
the  strictest  standards  of  moral  conduct,  particularly 
instilling  into  their  young  hearts  the  love  of  God 
and  reverence  for  and  devotion  to  the  Bible,  the 
Church  and  the  Sabbath.  From  his  earliest  days, 
regularity  and  frequency  at  church  services,  sys- 
tematic reading  of  the  Bible,  and  exceptionally  rigid 
customs  as  to  Sabbath  observance  were  features  of 
his  life;  and  they  were  all  three  notably  character- 
istic of  all  his  later  years.    Other  principles  making 

4 


ANCESTRY 


for  right  living  and  the  development  of  strong  char- 
acter and  uprightness  of  conduct  were  vigorously 
emphasized  in  his  early  home  life  in  such  a  whole- 
some manner  as  to  make  a  lifelong  impression  upon 
him.  His  parents  were  not  opposed  to  play,  but  the 
opportunities  for  a  normally  playful  child-life  in 
those  days,  and  in  that  environment,  were  not  in 
proportion  to  their  needs,  and  so  the  children  grew 
up  as  had  their  parents,  accustomed  to  few  pleasures 
and  to  the  hardest  kind  of  work,  evidently  inheriting, 
and  still  further  acquiring,  not  only  a  capacity  for, 
but  a  real  liking  for,  wrork;  and  along  with  the  severe 
toil  of  those  pioneer  days,  there  was  developed  a 
depth  of  devotion  to  God  and  a  love  for  His  great 
institutions  wThich  their  children  absorbed  and  which 
remained  with  them  throughout  long  busy  lives  of 
useful  service.  In  marked  manner  were  these  two 
great  qualities  of  industry  and  reverence  characteris- 
tic of  the  oldest  son. 

A  GREAT  GRANDFATHER 

He  was  named  after  his  father's  maternal  grand- 
father, the  Reverend  Isaac  Eddy,  who  had  served  as 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  at  Kiantone 
and  later  at  Jamestown,  N.  Y.  The  suggestion  as 
to  his  name  came  from  Isaac  Eddy  Carey,  a  cousin 
of  his  father,  to  whom  Russell  M.  Brown  had  writ- 
ten, asking  for  advice  as  to  a  probable  good  name 
for  the  new  son.  The  reply  was  as  follows:  "Since 
you  have  honored  me  so  much,  I  will  give  you  the 


6  THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

very  best  name  I  can  think  of — call  the  lad  by  the 
name  Isaac  Eddy,  that  good  name  of  our  revered 
grandfather,  which  he  gave  to  me,  his  first-born 
grandson.  Let  the  same  excellent  name  be  given  to 
our  beloved  grandmother's  first-born  great-grandson. 
Let  us  take  it  upon  us  to  hand  that  name  down  to 
the  remotest  generations ;  I  am  sure  you  cannot  wish 
for  a  more  musical  name  than  Isaac  Eddy  Brown, 
truly  that  sounds  fine!  0,  pray  for  grace  to  bring 
up  that  precious  boy  in  the  nurture  and  admonition 
of  the  Lord !    Give  him  to  Christ." 

Isaac  Eddy,  owing  to  his  earnestness  and  marked 
ability  as  a  layman  in  the  Congregational  Church  in 
early  and  middle  years,  had  attracted  the  attention 
of  neighboring  ministers  who  advised  him  to  enter 
the  ministry.  This  advice,  together  with  his  own 
convictions  of  duty  and  the  apparent  leading  of 
Providence,  caused  him  to  respond  favorably  and 
he  was  licensed  as  a  preacher  at  the  age  of  forty- four, 
filling  the  pastorates  previously  mentioned  with  ex- 
ceptional forcefulness  and  success.  That  his  charac- 
ter, mentality,  and  depth  of  religious  life  impressed 
both  his  own  and  the  succeeding  generations  is  ap- 
parent from  the  fact  that,  sixty  years  after  his  death, 
the  following  description  of  him  was  prepared  and 
published  by  one  of  his  friends: 

He  was  a  man  of  mild  and  agreeable  manners,  genial 
and  pleasant  in  his  contact  with  others.  Generous  and 
confiding,  his  social  life  was  guided  by  the  strictest  rules 


ANCESTRY 


of  rectitude.  He  spoke  his  opinion  modestly  but  firmly, 
and  it  was  evident  that  his  worldly  opinions  as  well  as 
his  worldly  acts  were  firmly  based  upon  his  religious 
ideas  of  what  was  right;  he  courted  not  the  applause 
of  those  by  whom  he  was  surrounded,  and  it  was  always 
evident  that  his  eye  was  steadfastly  fixed  upon  the  re- 
ward of  well  doing.  It  was  evident  from  his  manner 
and  conversation  that  he  was  a  man  of  deep  thought 
and  reflection.  He  was  a  plain  but  pleasant  speaker, 
earnest  and  persuasive  in  argumentation,  and  was  always 
listened  to  with  profoundest  attention;  his  kindness,  his 
pleasant  manner,  his  goodness  were  fully  recognized  by 
all;  everyone  treated  him  with  the  greatest  reverence 
and  respect. 

All  who  knew  his  oldest  great-grandson  who  bore 
this  good  man's  name  for  nearly  seventy  years,  can- 
not but  recognize  that  all  these  sterling  qualities, 
and  still  others,  were  apparently  transmitted 
through  succeeding  generations,  for  every  word  of 
this  estimate  of  the  character  and  usefulness  of 
Isaac  Eddy  is  peculiarly  and  equally  applicable  to 
the  life  and  service  of  Isaac  Eddy  Brown,  his 
descendant  and  namesake  of  the  fourth  generation, 
more  than  a  century  later.  See  his  tribute  to  his 
great-grandfather  in  the  closing  section  of  the 
chapter  on  his  work  as  a  public  speaker. 


CHAPTER  III 

Parentage 

His  father  was  a  man  of  deep  religious  nature, 
methodical  habits,  public  spirit,  and  possessed  of  a 
philosophical  turn  of  mind.  This  is  shown  by  some 
excerpts  from  his  diary,  written  in  1852,  where  he 
says: 

January  1,  1852.  God  in  his  goodness  has  permitted 
us  to  witness  the  commencement  of  another  year,  and 
we  are  all  enjoying  good  health.     Let  God  be  praised. 

A  few  weeks  later  we  see  something  of  his  regu- 
larity, his  public  spirit,  and  his  devotion  to  a  moral 
cause  as  he  writes: 

This  is  the  first  Saturday  evening  I  have  been  at  home 
for  over  two  years.  The  Sons  of  Temperance  organized 
two  years  ago,  and  I  have  attended  every  meeting;  the 
time  is  now  changed  to  Monday  evening. 

A  choice  bit  of  philosophy  appears  in  his  entry  of 
May  15,  1852,  when  he  says: 

I  again  find  myself  half  a  month  behind  in  keeping 
a  memoranda.  Like  all  our  affairs  in  life,  we  find  it 
hard  to  overtake  time  after  we  have  once  suffered  it 
to  get  the  start  of  us,  and  I  begin  to  learn  that  the  best 

8 


PARENTAGE  9 


time  to  do  a  thing  is  at  the  very  time  it  ought  to  be 
done  and  not  put  it  off  for  a  more  convenient  time. 

His  mother  was  a  woman  of  strong  and  beautiful 
character,  of  rare  devotion  to  her  home  and  family, 
and  of  deep  religious  faith,  strong  in  its  simplicity. 
She  was  possessed  of  all  the  womanly  graces  to  an 
exceptional  degree.  She  instilled  her  own  high  ideals 
into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  her  children,  maintain- 
ing in  her  home  a  spirit  of  family  unity  and  affec- 
tionate devotion  to  each  other  and  each  other's 
interests,  in  accord  with  all  the  finest  traditions  of 
Christian  motherhood.  A  record  of  the  family  shows 
a  happy  home  life  in  which  the  children  received 
the  systematic  and  thorough  training  which  makes 
for  industry,  character,  culture,  ideals,  generosity, 
breadth  of  interest,  religious  faith,  loyalty  to  Church 
and  allied  organizations,  together  with  the  develop- 
ment of  a  desire  to  be  of  real  service  and  large  use- 
fulness in  the  world's  work. 

With  such  an  ancestral  background,  with  parents 
of  such  marked  physical,  mental,  and  moral  strength, 
we  see  something  of  the  heritage  into  which  he  came, 
and  something  of  the  foundation  which  was  laid  for 
a  life  work  to  be  characterized  by  great  industry,  by 
intellectual  achievement,  and  by  the  strongest  reli- 
gious influence. 

EARLY  BOYHOOD 

It  is  in  this  incompletely  kept  diary  of  his  father 
that  we  have  the  earliest  recorded  facts  about  his 


10         THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

son,  and  in  it,  at  the  early  age  of  three,  are  to  be 
seen  manifestations  of  his  physical  and  mental 
characteristics.  Under  date  of  May  17,  1852,  he 
writes: 

This  is  Eddy's  birthday;  he  is  three  years  old,  and 
getting  to  be  quite  a  large  boy.  His  general  health  is 
good,  yet  he  has  an  occasional  sick  spell;  he  talks  very 
plain  and  seems  to  understand  things  well  for  a  child 
of  his  age;  he  has  learned  the  alphabet. 

HIS  OWN  DIARY 

The  father's  incomplete  and  partial  efforts  to  keep 
a  record  of  life's  daily  events  were  improved  upon 
by  the  son,  who  on  his  eleventh  birthday,  May  17, 
1860,  began  to  keep  a  diary,  probably  following  his 
father's  request.  On  that  date,  in  boyish  handwrit- 
ing, he  says: 

This  is  my  birthday  and  some  of  the  boys  gave  me 
a  good  whipping.  After  school  I  came  home  and  did 
my  chores  and  then  went  to  bed. 

On  January  1,  1862,  he  writes: 

I  commenced  keeping  memoranda  one  year  ago  the 
17th  day  of  last  May  and  I  shall  always  keep  one,  if  it 
is  in  my  power. 

And  he  did.  For  throughout  a  busy  life  during 
the  nearly  sixty  years  following,  with  but  one  brief 
interruption,  he  kept  a  record  of  the  daily  events 


PARENTAGE  11 


and  happenings  of  his  life,  the  record  ceasing  only 
when,  near  to  his  journey's  end,  illness  prevented 
further  writing  as  he  made  his  last  entry  April  7, 
1917,  simply  the  two  words  "seriously  sick." 

His  first  entry  on  his  eleventh  birthday  indicates 
something  of  the  physical  and  mental  energy  of  the 
lad.  He  says:  "This  morning  after  milking  a  few 
cows,  I  went  to  studying  my  Latin  lesson."  Two 
days  later  he  writes:  "This  morning  I  got  up  and 
milked  four  cows,  fed  the  chickens,  weeded  my 
flower  and  onion  beds  and  then  went  to  studying." 
More  concisely  a  few  days  later  he  again  demon- 
strates an  exceptional  blending  of  physical  and  men- 
tal energy  for  a  boy  of  eleven  as  he  says:  "Milked 
eleven  cows,  studied  Latin."  May  these  be  taken 
as  foregleams  of  the  physical  and  intellectual 
strength  which  he  in  later  years  so  generously 
poured  out  in  the  solving  of  industrial  and  educa- 
tional problems?  More  of  hard  work  was  crowded 
into  the  early  years  of  this  boy  than  is  the  case  with 
most  men.  The  years  of  childhood  are  rightfully 
for  play,  but  circumstances  deprived  him,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  of  the  normal  rights  of  childhood 
in  this  respect.  He  loved  play  and  was  at  times 
able  to  participate,  but  for  long  periods,  when  his 
young  friends  were  on  the  ball  field  and  wanted  him 
to  join  them,  he  was  preoccupied  in  work  for  his 
mother,  or  for  neighbors,  through  which  he  could 
add  to  the  family's  modest  income.  The  hard  task 
of  milking,  performed  so   faithfully   through   the 


12         THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

years  of  childhood,  twisted  the  bone  in  one  wrist  out 
of  shape  and  it  so  remained  throughout  his  life. 

As  a  little  fellow,  he  began  assuming  respon- 
sibilities which  must  have  added  greatly  to  his 
equipment  for  the  larger  duties  of  his  adult  life. 

His  industry  and  public  spirit  are  manifested  in 
the  statement  written  one  month  after  his  eleventh 
birthday: 

Have  been  getting  folks  to  sign  a  subscription  paper 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  money  so  as  to  have  fireworks 
here  next  Fourth  of  July.  Amount  signed  at  time  school 
let  out  was  $2.85;  next  day  it  was  $4.35. 

However,  his  efforts  in  interesting  others  in  those 
early  years  did  not  always  prove  as  successful,  for 
a  little  later  he  writes: 

This  forenoon  I  went  down  on  the  flats  to  get  sub- 
scribers for  the  American  Agriculturist  for  which  I  am 
getting  up  a  club,  and  I  did  not  get  one. 

Total  failure  of  results  did  not  discourage  him 
and  limited  success  did  not  satisfy  him,  for  he 
writes: 

I  went  around  today  to  get  subscriptions,  but  there 
was  only  two  that  paid  me. 

The  record  of  his  boy  life  reveals  also  his  ex- 
ceptionally active  mind.  While  still  under  twelve, 
he  records  having  spent  an  evening  in  writing  a 
composition  on  "Life."     Also,  there  is  manifested 


PARENTAGE  13 


another  leading  life  characteristic,  namely,  his  fore- 
handedness  and  ability  to  plan  his  work  ahead,  as 
he  writes : 

Today,  Friday,  we  spoke  pieces  and  the  girls  had 
compositions.  Next  Friday,  the  boys  are  going  to  have 
compositions.  I  have  got  mine  written,  the  subject  is 
"Intemperance." 

His  love  for  reading  was  early  developed  as  shown 
by  an  entry  at  age  thirteen : 

Sat  up  quite  late  reading  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin." 

At  this  time  also  we  see  evidence  of  his  father's 
appreciation  of  his  son's  mentality  from  the  follow- 
ing: 

Today  father  got  the  "History  of  the  Reformation" 
for  me  on  the  condition  that  I  would  read  it  through. 

■'..... 

His  familiarity  with  church  history  in  this  period, 

in  his  later  years,  is  evidence  that  he  fully  met  the 
condition  of  the  gift  and  that  he  stored  the  subject 
matter  in  his  mind. 

Further,  we  see,  in  these  formative  years,  his 
willingness  to  render  individual  service  in  a  moral 
and  religious  cause,  as  he  records : 

I  handed  in  eleven  names  who  had  signed  the  tem- 
perance pledge. 

Those  eleven  had  apparently  signed  upon  his  per- 
sonal invitation  and  urging. 


14         THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

His  exceptional  frankness  is  another  trait  of  char- 
acter revealed  in  these  boyish  records,  for  he  fre- 
quently makes  record  of  his  errors  in  spelling, 
arithmetic,  and  geography;  and  every  now  and  then 
he  chides  himself  in  his  diary  for  shortcomings  and 
failings.  In  some  studies  he  was  slow  in  developing 
interest,  and  once  wrote:  "Could  not  get  any  lower 
as  I  was  always  at  the  foot." 

Occasional  touches  of  humor  appear  in  his  early 
writings.  In  his  thirteenth  year  he  encountered  a 
situation  not  uncommon  in  the  country  schools  of 
those  days,  and  states:  "There  is  a  school  meeting 
this  evening  to  see  about  turning  the  teacher  out 
of  school,"  to  which  he  adds,  showing  his  early  love 
for  orderly  and  lawful  action,  "I  hope  they  will  not 
accomplish  it." 

In  this  year,  also,  is  found  an  early  manifestation 
of  two  other  leading  traits  of  character  which  were 
factors  in  the  success  of  his  life  work — namely, 
seriousness  of  purpose  and  orderliness  and  system; 
his  entry  reading: 

This  forenoon  I  have  been  copying  off  my  rules.  I 
am  going  to  frame  them  and  hang  them  up  where  I  can 
see  them. 

It  would  be  intensely  interesting  to  include  this 
boyish  set  of  rules,  framed  and  hung  up  so  as  to  be 
in  constant  view,  but  they  have  not  been  found. 
At  this  time  also,  is  revealed  a  glimpse  of  his 


PARENTAGE  15 


exceptionally  generous  and  unselfish  nature  as  he 
says: 

Today  I  have  been  to  Jamestown  with  father.    I  did 

not  get  anything  for  myself,  but  father  gave  me  some 
money  and  I  got  some  candy  for  Lida  and  Lillie  (his 
sisters). 

And  so  through  those  early  formative  years  he 
worked  and  studied — always  industrious  and  always 
studious — developing  character  and  laying  a  sure 
foundation  for  the  later  years  of  able  and  conse- 
crated service  to  his  fellow  men  and  to  the  King- 
dom of  God. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Removal  to  Illinois 

In  the  spring  of  1862,  his  family  reached  an  im- 
portant decision — namely,  to  remove  to  the  west  and 
locate  in  Illinois.  There  is  a  touch  of  pathos  in  his 
boyish  record  as  he  writes  of  these  new  plans.  His 
dog,  a  companion  since  his  earliest  years,  could  not 
make  the  journey  and  a  sad  duty  fell  to  his  young 
master,  who  writes: 

I  had  to  go  up  and  get  our  dog  Prince  and  have  him 
killed.  I  felt  very  sorry  to  have  him  killed  for  we  have 
been  together  since  I  was  a  little  baby  and  he  has  been 
a  good  dog  and  could  catch  a  fox  on  fair  running. 

And  so — undoubtedly  with  heavy  heart  because 
of  the  separation  from  scenes  and  friendships  of 
early  years  already  dear  to  him,  but  with  eagerness 
for  the  new  experiences  awaiting — he,  on  April  9, 
with  his  father  and  uncle,  started  down  the  Alle- 
gheny River  on  a  raft.  This  method  of  making  the 
journey  was  chosen  doubtless  because  of  its 
economy,  the  mother  and  younger  children  going  by 
rail.  With  the  delays  incident  to  the  river  tran- 
sportation, the  journey  to  Cincinnati  occupied  over 
four  weeks.    Daily  he  records  the  sights  and  scenes 

16 


REMOVAL  TO  ILLINOIS  17 

of  this  interesting  trip,  his  comments,  even  at  that 
early  age,  demonstrating  his  rare  power  of  observa- 
tion and  description.  Ten  years  later,  one  of  his 
college  orations  was  a  description  of  this  journey 
to  his  new  home,  the  scene  of  his  life  work.  He  re- 
cords his  first  sight  of  the  cities  passed,  saying:  "It 
is  very  smoky  around  Pittsburg."  Here  he  came 
into  first-hand  contact  with  the  Civil  War,  writing 
under  April  26,  "We  met  today  two  steamboats  of 
soldiers  wounded  in  the  terrible  battle  of  Pittsburg 
Landing,"  and  four  days  later,  "Met  a  boat  with  a 
good  many  soldiers  on  it  with  their  guns  and  haver- 
sacks. They  exchanged  cheers  with  every  raft  they 
met  and  appeared  in  very  good  spirits,  'though  going 
to  face  dangers  in  the  battlefields — but  they  were 
going  to  do  it  for  their  country." 

On  and  on  the  little  craft  moved,  passing  by,  with 
occasional  stops  at,  towns  and  villages,  traveling 
much  of  the  time  by  night.  He  saw  and  described 
much  of  the  devastation  of  war;  he  makes  interest- 
ing comment  about  the  sights  and  scenes  passed, 
the  villages  visited,  and  the  people  met  and  ob- 
served. On  May  5,  the  raft  reached  Cincinnati,  his 
father  receiving  compensation  of  $30.37  for  the 
month's  journey.  Then  by  train  to  Chicago,  arriv- 
ing the  next  day  in  the  farming  community  in 
northern  Illinois  which  was  to  be  his  home  in  the 
years  of  his  early  young  manhood.  He  went  straight 
to  work,  saying,  "I  held  the  plough  a  little  after 
arriving."     On  the  following  Sunday,  his  already 


18        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

well-established  custom  is  continued  in  the  new 
location,  for  he  writes,  "Attended  meeting  and  Sun- 
day school."  His  developing  religious  life  is  mani- 
fested a  month  later  when  he  says,  after  recording 
his  attendance  at  morning,  afternoon,  and  evening 
services:  "Thus  I  attended  three  Sabbath  schools 
and  two  meetings;  I  hope  I  may  improve  my 
privilege  of  attending  Divine  worship." 

The  summer  weeks  of  this  year  brought  him  into 
still  closer  contact  with  the  thrilling  war  events.  He 
says:  "The  President  has  called  for  three  hundred 
thousand  nine-months  men  in  addition  to  the  same 
number  of  three-year  men  already  called  for.  Draft- 
ing is  to  commence  immediately.  Father  sent  his 
name  east  to  be  put  on  the  enlistment  roll."  And 
again — "All  of  us  attended  a  war  meeting  at  Sub- 
lette; martial  music  made  the  scene  more  lively; 
when  we  left  fifteen  had  enlisted  and  $55  was 
pledged  to  support  the  families  of  volunteers."  "To- 
day is  the  fast  day  appointed  by  the  President; 
there  have  been  services  at  the  church."  And  so 
with  this  background  of  hard  work  and  diligent 
study  and  the  impressions  coming  into  his  mind 
in  the  days  of  the  great  crisis  in  our  national  history, 
we  find  him  developing  in  his  early  teens  into  an 
exceptionally  thoughtful,  serious-minded,  conscien- 
tious, and  purposeful  lad. 

His  father's  patriotism,  manifested  in  sending  his 
name  back  to  the  old  home  town  in  western  New 
York  for  enlistment,  caused  an  interruption  to  their 


REMOVAL  TO  ILLINOIS  19 

residence  in  Illinois,  for  in  September  of  that  year 
the  family  returned  to  Kiantone,  there  to  stay  with 
relatives  while  the  father  served  his  country  as  a 
soldier  in  the  Civil  War.  Four  uncles  of  the  boy 
also  enlisted  in  the  same  regiment  and  for  some 
days  all  were  in  camp  near  the  home  town.  Daily 
he  visited  his  father  in  camp,  and  on  September  12, 
1862,  the  regiment  left  for  active  service  at  the  front. 
Of  this  event  he  writes  one  of  the  most  significant 
sentences  of  his  entire  life  record,  as  follows: 

I  accompanied  father  to  the  depot,  but  mother  re- 
mained at  home.  I  shall  now  have  to  work  all  I  can 
when  I  am  out  of  school  and  try  to  help  mother  to  get 
along  and  take  father's  place. 

(See  facsimile  of  aote  on  page  20) 

This  noble  declaration  by  a  thirteen-year-old  boy 
reminds  us  of  that  other  boy,  growing  up  in  a  coun- 
try village,  who,  at  twelve  said:  "I  must  be  about 
my  Father's  business/'  It  gives  us  another  fore- 
gleam  of  his  remarkably  fine  nature  and  unselfish 
spirit  as  he  thus  records  his  sense  of  responsibility 
to  help  his  mother  by  taking  his  father's  place.  He 
lived  up  to  his  declaration  too,  for  from  then  on  he 
did  a  man's  work,  though  but  a  boy. 

During  his  father's  period  of  service  at  the  front, 
this  boy,  already  a  man  in  his  appreciation  of  his 
responsibility  and  in  his  willingness  and  eagerness  to 
do  a  man's  part,  kept  in  close  touch  with  his  father 
through  frequent  letters.     Early  in  his  service  the 


20 


THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 


REMOVAL  TO  ILLINOIS  21 

father  suffered  severe  illness,  as  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing entry: 

It  is  now  eight  months  since  father's  name  was  en- 
rolled in  the  Company  of  sharp  shooters  to  which  he 
now  belongs,  and  seven  months  ago  he  left  for  Dixie. 
The  medical  director  has  ordered  him  to  the  general 
hospital  at  Fortress  Monroe.  His  brigade  has  been  or- 
dered to  move;  they  expect  a  battle  immediately.  We 
feel  very  anxious. 

In  due  time  the  father  was  able  to  return  to 
his  home  honorably  discharged,  and  after  regain- 
ing his  health,  the  family  returned  to  Illinois,  re- 
suming the  plans  which  the  war  had  interrupted. 
The  son  took  up  again  the  usual  routine  of  his  hard 
work  on  the  farm,  his  diligent  study,  and  his  regular 
participation  in  the  services  and  work  of  the  coun- 
try church,  and  continued  steadfastly  in  all  three 
through  the  next  few  years,  developing  in  body, 
mind,  and  spirit  for  the  life  work  awaiting. 

These  early  years  of  toil,  study,  meditation,  and 
planning  in  the  open  country  of  Illinois  impress  one 
by  their  similarity  to  the  preparatory  years  of  the 
Saviour,  who,  in  his  village  home  in  Nazareth,  had 
toiled,  studied,  and  formulated  his  life  purposes, 
increasing  in  wisdom  and  stature,  and  in  favor  with 
God  and  man.  Already  following  closely  in  the 
footsteps  of  the  Master,  foundations  were  being  laid 
strong,  firm,  and  enduring  for  the  superstructure  of 
the  years  of  service  to  come, 


22        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 


OLDER   BOYHOOD 

The  years  from  thirteen  to  seventeen  were  spent 
steadfastly  continuing  in  the  three  great  purposes 
already  dominant  in  his  young  life — namely,  hard 
manual  work  and  diligent  study,  the  development  of 
a  strong  religious  faith,  and  earnest  devotion  and  a 
self-sacrificing  spirit  of  service  for  others.  The  daily 
narrative  of  his  farm  work  is  impressive  in  its 
monotony;  in  every  year  he  studied,  and  with  ex- 
ceptional diligence  and  thoroughness.  For  some 
time  he  studied  in  the  Academy  at  Lee  Center,  111., 
doing  the  janitor  work  to  pay  his  tuition.  Equally 
or  more  impressive  is  the  record  of  his  constancy  in 
attendance  at  church  services,  and  at  Sunday  school 
and  midweek  meetings  and  his  measure  of  interest 
in  the  themes  presented  and  studied.  Through  these 
character-forming  years  he  toiled  and  studied  and 
meditated,  thinking  much  of  the  future  years  and 
considering  deeply  what  his  life  work  should  be.  His 
religious  faith  had  become  strong  and  well  settled 
and  in  an  entirely  natural  and  normal  way;  he  did 
not,  as  do  many,  have  to  go  through  a  stirring  ex- 
perience of  decision  and  conversion ;  he  never  knew 
any  other  plan  of  life  than  to  be  following  as  closely 
as  possible  in  the  footsteps  of  his  Master.  He  united 
with  the  Church  at  his  own  initiative — the  result  of 
his  own  thinking — it  was  natural  for  him  to  take  the 
step ;  his  interest  in  and  affection  for  the  church  was 


REMOVAL  TO  ILLINOIS  23 

strong  from  early  boyhood  and  continuous  through- 
out life. 

At  an  early  age  he  definitely  decided  to  become  a 
teacher,  and  after  special  preparation  went  to  the 
county  seat  to  take  the  examination  for  a  teacher's 
license,  passing  it  successfully.  Soon  thereafter  he 
secured  appointment  to  the  village  school  at  Amboy, 
continuing  here  for  two  years,  and  using  the  summer 
months  and  other  unoccupied  weeks  in  the  hardest 
kind  of  farm  labor.  From  the  record  it  is  apparent 
that  during  these  first  early  years  as  an  educator 
he  was  exercising  those  rare  talents  and  finer  pur- 
poses which  mark  the  distinction  between  a  mare 
schoolkeeper  and  a  real  teacher.  His  problems  of 
discipline  in  a  country  school  were  serious  and  made 
heavy  demands  upon  physical  and  mental  energy, 
but  he  met  them  courageously  and  forcefully  and 
used  radical  measures  only  in  extreme  cases.  Scores 
of  lines  in  his  diary  indicate  that  it  was  ever  his 
constant  effort  and  his  studied  purpose  to  teach 
his  pupils  to  think,  to  inspire  them  to  grow  intel- 
lectually, and  to  develop  in  them  the  highest  ideals 
of  character  and  service.  During  these  early  years 
of  young  manhood  his  earnest  desire  to  be  useful 
in  some  form  of  Christian  service  was  made  apparent 
in  two  different  directions — one  for  work  in  the 
homeland  and  one  for  service  abroad.  Both  were 
indicative  of  the  depth  of  his  religious  life,  his 
earnest  self-sacrificing  spirit,  and  his  whole-hearted 
consecration.     His  brother,   Dr.   Elmer   Ellsworth 


24        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

Brown,  tells  of  a  summer  Sunday  afternoon,  while 
the  family  was  resting  on  the  lawn  of  their  farm 
home,  he  was  conversing  with  their  father  about  his 
desire  to  go  as  a  missionary  among  the  Sioux  In- 
dians. This  was  shortly  after  the  great  Sioux  wars. 
As  they  talked  of  this,  his  earnest  desire,  they  sat 
looking  off  at  the  setting  sun  toward  the  Indian 
country.  "There  was  in  it  all  a  strange  sense  of 
perilous  and  romantic  consecration  that  sank  deep 
into  my  soul,"  his  brother  says.  And  while  still  in 
his  teens,  this  young  student  and  teacher,  before  he 
had  entered  college,  and  fully  a  generation  in  ad- 
vance of  the  formation  of  the  Student  Volunteer 
Movement  for  foreign  missions,  quietly  but  earn- 
estly reached  a  decision  to  volunteer  for  foreign 
missionary  service.  The  way  did  not  open  for  him 
to  enter  either  of  these  two  fields,  so  he  reluctantly 
gave  up  that  hope,  but  eagerly  set  his  mind  and 
heart  toward  preparation  for  usefulness  in  the  home- 
land, and,  so  far  as  he  could  then  foresee,  in  the 
teaching  profession.  A  year  or  two  more  of  teach- 
ing, study,  and  farm  work  found  him  ready  to  enter 
the  Illinois  State  Normal  School. 


CHAPTER  V 

Student  Years  at  Normal 

In  1871,  he  completed  his  plans  for  further  prep- 
aration for  the  teaching  profession,  and  with  but  a 
few  dollars  saved  from  his  farm  labors  and  from 
his  meager  salary  as  a  country  school  teacher,  he 
entered  the  Illinois  State  Normal  University  at  Nor- 
mal, 111. 

Here  he  studied  diligently,  setting  a  high  standard 
of  scholarship,  entering  actively  into  college  life, 
and  with  exceptional  application  and  seriousness  of 
purpose  striving  to  make  the  years  of  training  fruit- 
ful. The  necessity  for  earning  his  way  left  but  little 
time  for  the  social,  recreational,  and  athletic  features 
characteristic  of  college  life.  His  already  well- 
trained  mind  and  his  business  sagacity  saw  an  op- 
portunity for  possible  self-support  in  a  book  store 
which  he  maintained  and  operated,  earning  a  modest 
profit  which  enabled  him  to  acquire  his  education 
without  other  financial  assistance  and  without  ac- 
cumulating embarrassing  indebtedness.  Mr.  Weiden- 
sall  says  he  was  the  most  progressive  student  in  the 
college.  He  early  became  identified  with  one  of  the 
voluntary  literary  organizations  of  the  institution, 
The  Philadelphia^,  serving  as  its  president  and  tak- 

25 


26        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

ing  a  leading  part  in  the  programs  and  debates  of 
this  influential  group. 

Immediately,  too,  he  became  actively  related  to 
the  Christian  activities  of  the  University.  He  as- 
sisted his  sister  in  forming  the  first  student  Young 
Women's  Christian  Association  of  the  entire  move- 
ment. He  took  the  initiative  in  forming  a  student 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  served  as 
its  president.  He  cooperated  in  the  Christian  ac- 
tivities of  the  community  as  well,  serving  as  a 
teacher  in  the  Sunday  school  of  his  church  and  in 
other  places  of  useful  service. 

The  exceptional  regularity  of  his  attendance  at 
all  Sunday  and  midweek  services  of  the  church,  so 
characteristic  of  his  earlier  years,  was  continued  and 
without  interruption  during  his  busy  years  as  a  self- 
supporting  student.  The  summer  months  of  his 
years  in  the  Normal  School  were  spent  in  the  cus- 
tomary farm  duties,  in  which  he  worked  hard;  he 
also  applied  himself  diligently  to  reading  and  study 
and  managed  to  save  something  for  the  expenses 
of  the  ensuing  year. 

These  years  were  scarcely  typical  of  the  college 
life  of  today;  he  was  there,  not  because  he  was  sent, 
but  because  of  the  urge  within  him  for  learning  and 
for  preparation  for  his  already  chosen  calling  which 
he  loved  and  in  which  he  desired  to  excel.  His 
financial  support  had  to  come  entirely  from  his  own 
earnings.  So  his  years  of  schooling  were  altogether 
serious;  studying  was  a  business  and  earning  money 


STUDENT  YEARS  AT  NORMAL  27 

was  imperative.  Through  these  years  of  accom- 
plishment it  is  notable  that  it  was  the  social  and 
athletic  activities  which  received  the  minimum  of 
his  attention,  and  that  the  maximum  of  his  strength 
went  into  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  development 
which  meant  so  much  to  the  great  life  work  for 
which  he  was  preparing. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Beginnings  in  His  Life  Work 

It  was  doubtless  providential  that  while  a  student 
he  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  first  state  conven- 
tion of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of 
Illinois,  which  met  at  Bloomington,  November  6 
to  9,  1873.  The  records  do  not  indicate  any  special 
or  leading  part  taken  by  him  in  this  first  convention, 
but  it  is  evident  from  his  recorded  impressions  that 
it  was  a  time  of  deep  thinking  and  of  rich  spiritual 
experience  to  him  and  that  it  profoundly  influenced 
his  future  life  and  work  as  is  so  frequently  the  case 
with  college  students  and  other  young  men  attend- 
ing their  first  convention.  This  early  contact  with 
the  very  beginnings  of  the  movement  in  which  he 
was  to  spend  his  life  was  a  vital  factor  in  his  future 
decision  and  service. 

During  the  remainder  of  his  three  years  in  the 
Normal  School  and  the  six  years  as  a  teacher  and 
principal,  he  was  in  constant  contact  with  the  local 
and  state  work  of  the  Associations.  In  1878,  at 
Normal,  he  was  elected  as  a  member  of  the  State 
Executive  Committee,  and  in  1879,  at  the  Decatur 
Convention,  he  was  reelected  and  also  chosen  as 
vice-president  of  the  convention. 

28 


BEGINNINGS  IN  HIS  LIFE  WORK  29 

During  these  early  years  of  the  movement  in 
Illinois,  Robert  Weidensall,  that  statesmanlike 
pioneer,  had  been  its  ever-faithful  servant,  coun- 
sellor, and  chief  inspirational  force. 

At  this  Decatur  convention  of  1879,  Mr.  Weiden- 
sall presented  a  paper  on  "The  Importance  of  a  State 
Secretary."  This  office  was  vacant  in  Illinois  and 
had  been  so  in  the  earlier  years,  save  for  the  one 
year  of  evangelistic  work  by  one  who  served  tempor- 
arily. Mr.  Weidensall  was  preparing  the  way  for 
this  great  and  immediate  need  if  the  work  was  to 
grow  and  succeed.  He  summed  up  this  paper  by 
enumerating  seven  characteristics  of  a  State  Sec- 
retary as  follows:  (1)  He  should  be  mighty  in  the 
Scriptures  and  full  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  (2)  He  should 
possess  good  common  sense,  poise,  and  balance.  (3) 
He  should  know  what  will  make  a  true  success  of 
any  Association,  and  be  quick  to  discern  needs  and 
ability,  and  have  patience  to  impart  that  knowl- 
edge. (4)  He  should  be  able  in  private  interview  or 
public  address  to  communicate  his  thoughts  in  a 
forceful  and  acceptable  manner.  (5)  He  ought,  of 
all  men,  to  be  an  example  of  humility — not  seeking 
position  of  prominence  for  personal  glory.  (6)  He, 
being  the  leader  and  general  manager  of  all  the  work 
in  the  field,  must  become  minister  and  servant  of 
all,  going  forth,  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to 
minister;  and  (7)  He  must  do  all  for  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  and  for  the  building  up  of  His  Kingdom. 

In  a  word,  the  State  Secretary  must  be  a  living, 


30        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

speaking  encyclopedia  on  Christian  work,  especially 
on  that  pertaining  to  the  salvation  of  young  men. 
It  is  probable  that  this  mighty  prophet,  pioneer,  and 
seer  of  the  entire  association  movement,  in  thus  por- 
traying the  qualifications  of  the  leader  needed  for 
Illinois,  little  realized  that  even  then — right  in  their 
midst  and  one  of  them,  in  the  person  of  this  young 
teacher,  the  President  of  the  entertaining  Associa- 
tion and  Vice-president  of  the  Convention  he  was 
addressing — was  one  who  possessed  all  the  character- 
istics he  had  been  enumerating,  and  more,  and  whose 
heart  and  mind  were  already  in  preparation  for  the 
position  of  responsible  leadership. 

But  the  following  months  brought  rapid  develop- 
ments. Mr.  Weidensall  was  increasingly  drawn 
toward  the  young  teacher  whom  he  had  known  in 
the  Normal  School,  and  whose  leadership  in  educa- 
tional, Association,  and  community  activities  had 
repeatedly  and  impressively  come  under  his  observa- 
tion. For  some  years  he  had  been  earnestly  pray- 
ing and  quietly  but  diligently  seeking  for  the  right 
man  to  place  at  the  head  of  the  movement  in  Illinois. 
Gradually  it  was  borne  in  upon  him  that  right  here 
in  the  ranks  was  the  very  man  for  the  task.  He 
saw  in  him  the  qualities  of  leadership,  the  strength 
of  mind,  warmth  of  heart,  and  spiritual  vision  and 
purpose  essential  to  the  successful  development  of 
the  work.  He  had  thought  deeply,  searched  widely, 
and  prayed  long  and  earnestly  for  guidance  to  the 
man  of  God's  own  selection,  and  here  in  the  per- 


BEGINNINGS  IN  HIS  LIFE  WORK  31 

sonality  and  spirit  of  the  consecrated,  earnest,  cap- 
able, young  educator  he  became  convinced  that  his 
prayer  was  answered  and  his  search  ended — that  Mr. 
Brown  was  the  God-chosen  man  for  this  great  con- 
structive and  reconstructive  task.  He  urged  the 
Illinois  committee  to  invite  him  to  the  State  Sec- 
retaryship. (See  Mr.  Weidensall's  pen  written 
memorandum  on  page  32  setting  forth  his  reasons 
for  this  conviction.)  The  Committee  concurred,  the 
call  was  extended,  and  a  committee  composed  of 
A.  T.  Hemingway,  W.  W.  Van  Arsdale.  and  Robert 
Weidensall  designated  to  urge  him  to  accept. 

On  April  16,  1880,  Mr.  Brown,  at  thirty  years  of 
age,  accepted  the  position  which  was  to  command 
his  abilities,  energies,  and  consecrated  efforts  for 
the  next  three  decades. 

Twenty-five  years  later,  L.  W.  Messer,  who  had 
been  closely  associated  with  the  Illinois  work  almost 
from  the  beginning,  in  writing  a  brief  historical 
sketch  of  the  work  in  Illinois  during  the  quarter 
century  of  Mr.  Brown's  leadership,  said,  "No  better 
service  was  ever  rendered  the  Associations  of  this 
state  than  that  given  by  Robert  Weidensall  when, 
with  a  conviction  born  of  God,  he  urged  Mr.  Brown 
to  leave  his  important  position  as  a  teacher  in  De- 
catur, to  become  the  State  Secretary  of  the  Illinois 
Associations." 


32        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 


Reproduction  of  Robert  Weidensall's  Original  Memorandum 

Giving  His  Reasons  for  Choosing  I.  E.  Brown 

as  State  Secretary  for  Illinois. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Early  Reconstruction  Efforts 

The  seven  years  intervening  between  the  first  or- 
ganized efforts  in  the  state  and  the  calling  of  Mr. 
Brown  as  State  Secretary,  had  been  years  char- 
acterized by  fervent  evangelistic  campaigns,  under 
the  leadership  of  those  sturdy  pioneers,  Moody, 
Whittle,  Farwell,  and  others.  For  one  year,  1877, 
Charles  M.  Morton,  devoted,  consecrated,  able 
worker,  served  as  State  Secretary,  traveling  exten- 
sively over  the  state,  conducting  impressive  and 
successful  evangelistic  campaigns,  organizing  new 
associations,  and  so  faithfully  and  earnestly  preach- 
ing the  gospel  as  to  bring  large  numbers  of  men 
and  women  to  accept  the  Christian  standard  of  life 
and  to  enroll  as  members  of  churches  and  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations.  These  early  efforts 
characterized  the  Association  as  definitely  Christian, 
evangelical,  and  evangelistic,  and  laid  strong  and 
sure  the  foundations  for  the  development  of  sym- 
metrical Christian  manhood  through  social,  physical, 
intellectual,  and  spiritual  agencies — the  new  ideal 
and  goal  of  the  Association  movement.  This  all- 
round  ideal  rested  deeply  in  the  mind  and  heavily 
on  the  heart  of  Mr.  Weidensall,  the  ever-faithful 

33 


34        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

leader,  servant,  and  friend  of  the  movement  in 
Illinois  and  throughout  the  country.  None  appre- 
ciated more  than  he  the  need  and  the  value  of  the 
evangelistic  appeal;  and  none  appreciated  quite  so 
much  the  tremendous  value  of  the  broader  appeal 
for  the  development  of  the  entire  man,  body,  soul, 
and  spirit,  of  which  the  Association  became  the  ex- 
ponent, as  the  agent  and  representative  of  the 
churches.  Valuable  beyond  computation — as  this 
early  evangelistic  spirit  had  been — it  did  not  in  it- 
self establish  the  permanent  policy  for  the  building 
of  executive  organizations  which  was  essential  if  the 
movement  were  to  succeed.  He  was  happy  in  the 
knowledge  that  the  right  man  had  been  obtained 
for  the  wise,  tactful,  and  efficient  guidance  of  the 
movement  during  its  transition  period;  from  the 
time  when  its  chief  and  practically  exclusive  em- 
phasis was  upon  the  evangelistic  note,  into  the 
period  when  the  emphasis,  while  none  the  less  upon 
evangelism,  should  be  stronger  upon  the  symmet- 
rical development  of  ideal  Christian  manhood 
through  the  broader  appeal  to  all  departments  of 
man's  nature,  and  to  the  idea  that  the  true  function 
of  the  state  organization  should  be  to  build  up 
Associations  which  would  carry  out  this  ideal,  rather 
than  merely  to  promote  union  meetings  and  evan- 
gelistic campaigns  throughout  the  state. 

So,  with  thorough  instruction  and  many  prayer- 
ful admonitions,  Mr.  Weidensall  placed  the  task  in 
the  hands  and  on  the  heart  of  the  new  leader. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
The  First  Decade 

Immediately  upon  Mr.  Brown's  acceptance  of  the 
call  to  lead  the  movement  in  Illinois  as  State  Sec- 
retary, he  began  correspondence  with,  and  also  did 
some  visiting  of,  Associations.  At  the  close  of  the 
school  year,  June  first,  he  began  devoting  his  entire 
time  to  the  new  task  which  was  to  command  his 
consecrated  efforts  and  untiring  energy  for  the  next 
thirty  years. 

The  entries  in  his  diary  on  his  first  day  as  State 
Secretary  are  indicative  of  three  of  his  great  char- 
acteristics: first,  the  dominating  spiritual  motive 
of  his  life;  second,  his  prayerful  spirit;  and  third, 
his  systematic,  thorough,  practical,  and  energetic 
ways  of  going  about  a  task.  He  writes  (June  1, 
1880) : 

Accepted  appointment  as  State  Secretary.  I  hope  and 
pray  and  earnestly  desire  that  this  may  be  for  God's 
glory  and  that  He  will  use  this  weak  instrumentality  for 
the  advancement  of  His  Kingdom.     May  He  grant  it. 

Immediately  followed  by: 

Bought  supplies,  outfit,  and  stationery  for  immediate 
use.  Sent  letters  to  State  Secretaries  asking  for  infor- 
mation and  facts. 

35 


36        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

He  at  once  began  a  study  of  the  conditions  in  his  ! 
large  field,  receiving  a  list  of  sixteen  Associations 
supposedly  actively  at  work.  Several  of  these  were 
found  to  have  disbanded.  With  this  nucleus  of  or- 
ganizations he  began  his  large  task,  seeking  early  to 
systematize,  energize,  and  inspire  them  to  better 
service. 

Early  he  had  the  duty  of  arranging  for  the  State 
Convention  of  1880,  which  met  at  Peoria  in  August. 

Mr.  Weidensall  had  intended  to  participate  in 
this  Convention  but  was  detained  in  the  East  and 
instead  wrote  a  letter  which  was  almost  apostolic; 
certainly  in  spirit  and  in  content  it  was  greatly  like 
the  letters  Paul  wrote  for  the  encouragement  of  his 
friends  whom  he  could  not  visit  in  person.  Through- 
out, his  letter  breathes  the  spirit  of  devotion  and 
zeal  for  effective  service. 

He  says: 

After  much  prayer,  seeking,  and  anxiety  for  a  State 
Secretary,  after  calling  several  of  the  best  Association 
men  in  the  country  to  this  important  position  and  were 
disappointed  because  the  Lord  had  not  laid  upon  their 
hearts  to  come,  your  committee  were  without  doubt  in 
my  mind,  providentially  directed  to  Mr.  Brown  as  the 
man  for  this  position  and  the  efficiency  he  has  shown 
since  accepting  the  situation  confirms  the  first  judgment 
in  the  matter,  and  not  only  theirs,  but  others  who  anx- 
iously waited  for  proof  of  their  judgment.  ... 

And,  further  in  the  same  letter: 


THE  FIRST  DECADE  37 

Since  God  has  signally  blessed  the  work  wherever  sin- 
cerely undertaken,  and  especially  since  he  has  provided 
us  with  an  efficient  State  Secretary  of  our  own  number 
whom  we  know  and  who  has  been  with  the  state  work 
from  the  beginning,  let  us  lift  up  our  souls  in  thankful- 
ness and  with  our  hearts  pray  and  work  as  we  have 
never  done  before. 

In  this  letter  he  also  characterized  this  gathering 
as  "the  most  important  State  Convention  of  all  that 
have  yet  assembled  in  the  entire  west."  "With 
the  work  unified  and  characterized  by  singleness  of 
purpose,  you  are  now  on  vantage  ground,"  he  said 
further,  and  in  closing: 

Let  the  spirit  of  God  direct  the  Convention,  let  unity 
prevail,  let  all  be  of  a  teachable  spirit.  Many  of  these 
suggestions  of  mine  may  be  unnecessary  but  overlook 
all  such,  for  I  write  as  one  who  loves  each  and  every 
one  of  you.  My  heart  yearns  for  your  true  success  in 
doing  just  what  God  would  have  you  do.  I  trust  that 
I  shall  return  to  you  and  that  my  heart  shall  be 
strengthened  by  what  you  have  done. 

Probably  nothing  more  like  Paul's  writings  which 
so  breathed  the  spirit  of  the  Master  is  to  be  found 
l  in  the  correspondence  of  any  man  of  the  present 
|  day. 

At  the  first  convention  the  new  program  was  em- 
phasized and  featured,  and  here  he  presented  his 
first  annual  report.  This  demonstrated,  after  only 
a  few  summer  weeks  of  labor,  that  a  wise  choice  had 


38        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

been  made  for  leader  of  the  movement.  In  the 
change  of  the  point  of  emphasis  from  distinctly 
evangelistic  work  to  symmetrical  development  of 
body,  mind,  and  spirit,  he  had  concentrated  on  a 
general  visitation  of  the  Associations,  ascertaining 
their  condition  and  needs,  and  making  plans  for 
strengthening  their  work  at  every  point.  This  first 
report  showed  many  of  the  characteristics  so  prom- 
inent in  all  his  future  labors.  He  reported  accurately 
the  number  of  letters,  postals  and  documents  he  had 
mailed;  the  number  of  miles  traveled;  the  number 
of  conferences,  meetings,  and  public  addresses.  He 
told  of  the  cities  now  ripe  for  establishing  new  As- 
sociations and  inspired  the  delegates  by  his  earnest 
spiritual  appeal  to  "Be  strong  and  of  good  courage, 
seeking  the  blessing  of  the  Master." 

HIS   FIRST  CONVENTION   PAPER 

At  this  first  convention,  he  presented  the  first 
formal  paper  of  his  official  life,  a  paper  upon  "Com- 
mittees, their  Importance  and  Organization." 

This  paper  treating  of  a  fundamental  Association 
necessity  is  a  model  in  conciseness,  directness,  ear- 
nestness; and  in  its  closing  appeal,  as  was  his  cus- 
tom, for  the  religious  spirit  to  permeate  every  effort. 
It  reveals  his  orderly,  systematic,  analytical  mind, 
and  his  deep  religious  nature.  After  suggesting  the 
necessity  for  orderly  organization  and  system,  he 
makes  these  points: 


THE  FIRST  DECADE  39 

1.  Every  active  member  to  be  assigned  to  service 
upon  some  committee. 

2.  Each  member  of  each  group  to  have  some 
definite  work  laid  upon  him. 

3.  A  competent  executive  leader  is  needed.  And 
he  says  in  closing: 

4.  "In  all  this  care  of  the  machinery  of  Associa- 
tion activity,  let  us  not  forget  that  it  is  only  ma- 
chinery; that  there  is  needed  besides  all  this,  the 
vivifying  power  of  God's  spirit."  Then  in  the  spirit 
of  earnest  prayer  so  characteristic  of  all  his  life  work, 
his  paper  closes  with  "May  He  add  His  Blessing  to 
all  our  efforts  and  thoughts  and  plans  for  Him." 
Throughout  his  nearly  four  decades  of  active  service 
beginning  with  this  his  first  paper  at  his  first  Con- 
vention, he  never  departed  from  nor  lowered  this 
high  standard. 

EARLY   VISITATION 

The  record  of  his  early  labors  in  the  cities  and 
towns  of  Illinois  shows  much  of  a  pioneer  spirit 
and  reminds  one  of  the  early  ministry  of  Paul  among 
the  scattered,  struggling  churches  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Christian  era.  In  October,  1880,  visiting  one 
of  the  leading  cities  of  the  state,  his  entry  is: 

I  am  writing  in  the  rooms  of  the  Association.  Found 
them  open — no  one  here.  Lit  the  gas  and  have  done 
some  writing.  No  one  was  at  the  depot.  I  shall  now 
go  to  the  hotel  for  the  night. 


40        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

The  pathos  of  loneliness  is  perfectly  apparent  be- 
tween these  lines;  he  overcame  it  in  the  same  heroic 
spirit  of  the  earlier  great  pioneer  and  teacher  who 
wrote  "In  journeyings  often;  in  weariness  and  pain- 
fulness."  ' 

Again,  a  month  later,  in  another  city,  we  are  given 
a  glimpse  of  the  deep  concern  of  his  heart  that  the 
foundations  he  was  laying  should  be  well  laid,  as 
he  says: 

As  there  seems  to  be  almost  no  one  who  is  acquainted 
with  the  work,  I  have  great  anxiety  lest  mistakes  be 
made  which  shall  be  fatal  to  the  work. 

Discouragements  such  as  these  met  him  at  almost 
every  one  of  the  few,  widely  scattered,  inadequately 
equipped,  and  but  partially  organized  Associations. 
Previous  to  his  beginning  work,  they  had  little  or 
no  contact  with  each  other,  were  without  settled 
policies  or  plans,  and  had  no  unifying  agency. 
But  he  threw  all  the  strength  of  his  well-trained 
mind,  his  indomitable  spirit,  and  his  high  spir- 
itual purposes  into  the  situations  as  he  found 
them.  Conditions  began  gradually  to  improve  and 
the  results  of  his  service  early  became  manifest. 
Existing  Associations  were  inspired  and  encouraged, 
and  reorganized  when  necessary;  new  Associations 
were  organized  as  rapidly  as  communities  were 
sufficiently  prepared  to  sustain  them.  The  entire 
movement  was  gradually  placed  on  its  new  basis. 
At  each  point  visited  it  was  his  earnest  purpose 


THE  FIRST  DECADE  41 

to  inspire  the  organizations  to  effective  religious 
effort  and  to  the  newer  ideal  of  Association  service, 
to  meet  the  all-round  needs  of  the  individual  man. 
It  required  conviction  and  courage  to  stand  in  those 
early  days  for  this  principle — the  systematic,  four- 
fold type  of  work,  for  the  general  evangelistic  plan, 
with  its  stronger  appeal  to  emotion  and  sentiment, 
had  become  the  generally  accepted  type.  But  the 
new  State  Secretary  supplied  the  courageous  lead- 
ership necessary  to  success;  he  imparted  his  en- 
thusiasm to  others,  and  gradually  he  led  the 
Associations  of  the  state  to  revise  their  programs 
so  as  to  conform  to  the  broader  ideal.  New  Asso- 
ciations were  placed  at  the  start  on  this  basis,  and 
soon  the  new  principle  became  so  generally  ap- 
proved that  the  movement  was  well  started  on  its 
way  to  the  period  of  great  growth  and  expansion 
which  awaited  it. 

ASSOCIATIONS  FOR  SPECIAL  CLASSES 

In  these  early  years  of  beginnings,  both  in  his 
own  life  work  and  in  the  life  of  a  movement  des- 
tined to  greater  growth  and  expansion  than  any 
other  existing  organization,  it  was  his  task  to  lead 
the  Associations,  not  only  in  providing  for  the  all- 
round  needs  of  the  individual  man,  physical,  social, 
intellectual  and  spiritual,  but  also  in  adapting  its 
program  of  service  to  benefit  special  classes  and 
groups  of  men  other  than  those  in  the  cities. 


42        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

Student  Associations. — During  these  first  years, 
he  continually  emphasized  the  crucial  importance  of 
organizing  and  influencing  the  college  students  of 
the  State.  "Gain  the  colleges"  was  one  of  the  ob- 
jects he  reported  to  the  International  Convention 
the  first  year.  Hence  the  Associations  among  the 
students  of  the  colleges  were  from  the  start  im- 
portant factors  in  the  development  of  the  work, 
and  they  remained  so  continuously  throughout  his 
long  period  of  leadership. 

Associations  for  Railroad  Men. — The  railroad 
men  were  much  on  his  heart  and  mind  and  among 
the  tasks  early  undertaken  was  the  development  of 
interest,  good  will,  and  a  desire  to  render  corporate, 
moral,  and  financial  support  on  the  part  of  railroad 
officials.  A  number  of  Associations  for  railroad  men 
were  established  and  their  ministry  became  a  per- 
manent and  increasing  power  for  good,  and  railroad 
corporate  support  both  for  buildings  and  operating 
expenses  constantly  increased. 

In  Towns  and  Villages. — Likewise  in  the  towns 
and  villages  where  the  normal  equipment  and  pro- 
gram of  the  city  Association  was  necessarily  im- 
possible, he  encouraged  small  groups  of  young  men 
to  associate  themselves  for  social  and  spiritual  cul- 
ture and  service  to  others,  and  from  these  small 
groups  many  stalwart  characters  and  efficient  Chris- 
tian leaders  were  developed  for  the  ministry,  for 
the  secretaryship,  and  as  lay  leaders  in  church  and 
Associations.      The    remote    country    towns    were 


THE  FIRST  DECADE  43 

brought  into  helpful  contact  with  the  movement 
through  the  appointment  of  individual  correspond- 
ing members  of  the  state  organization. 

Militia  Camp  Work. — It  was  during  this  period 
that  he  led  in  establishing  special  tent  work  for 
the  thousands  of  young  men  members  of  the  state 
militia,  assembled  for  their  annual  encampments. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  similar  service  in  many- 
other  states,  and  a  forerunner  of  the  inestimable 
service  rendered  by  the  Associations  in  the  Spanish- 
American  War,  and  later,  in  the  World  War. 

Enlargement  of  Staff. — For  the  first  four  years  he 
worked  almost  alone  and  unaided  save  by  the  volun- 
teer help  of  the  splendid  group  of  laymen  of  those 
early  years.  In  1884,  his  brother,  Elmer  E.  Brown, 
joined  forces  with  him  as  Assistant  State  Secretary, 
serving  for  three  years.  Soon  he  added  a  competent, 
efficient  man  as  office  secretary,  the  first  state  to 
employ  such.  Gradually  additional  staff  assistants 
were  added,  so  that  by  the  close  of  his  first  decade, 
he  was  surrounded  by  an  able  corps  of  department 
heads  and  specialists,  some  of  whom  remained  with 
him  for  many  years  of  fruitful  service  under  his 
magnetic  and  inspiring  leadership. 

Thus,  through  ten  years  of  beginnings,  he  labored 
with  untiring  energy,  enthusiasm,  and  devotion, 
through  his  own  consecrated  efforts,  through  his 
associates,  lay  and  secretarial,  and  through  the  As- 
sociations planted  everywhere  over  the  state. 


44        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

Mr.  Weidensall,  reviewing  the  early  beginnings 
some  years  later,  wrote: 

I  had  to  initiate  Mr.  Brown  in  the  duties  of  his  office; 
outlined  for  him  a  ten-year  policy  and  soon  after  took 
my  departure;  believing  him  capable  and  trustworthy 
to  carry  it  out.  Later,  I  found  him  almost  killing  him- 
self trying  to  do  ten  years'  work  in  six  months. 

To  see  the  Associations  wisely  established  and 
constantly  growing  in  numerical  and  spiritual 
strength  was  the  absorbing  ambition  of  his  life.  The 
close  of  the  first  decade  found  the  movement  firmly 
entrenched  and  well  equipped  to  meet  its  great 
objective.  In  bringing  this  about  the  character, 
mentality,  ability,  zeal,  and  dominant  spiritual  pur- 
pose of  the  State  Secretary  were  the  chief  elements. 

SORROW  AND  BEREAVEMENT 

In  his  first  year  of  service  he  was  called  upon  to 
bear  a  heavy  burden  of  sorrow  owing  to  the  death 
of  his  wife,  after  a  few  years  of  married  life  char- 
acterized by  great  happiness  and  an  exceptional  de- 
gree of  mutual  helpfulness.  This  sorrow  was  in- 
tensified by  the  death  of  a  few  weeks  later  of  his 
little  daughter,  after  anxious  days  of  watching  and 
hoping.  His  heart  yearned  earnestly  that  she  might 
be  spared.  The  sorrow  of  the  double  loss  was  deep 
and  his  sense  of  loneliness  was  very  great.  His 
strength  of  character,  his  Christian  faith,  fortitude, 


THE  FIRST  DECADE  45 

and  courage,  and  his  spiritual  resourcefulness  are 
all  manifested  in  the  spirit  in  which  he  bore  these 
burdens,  for  the  record  shows  no  trace  of  despair 
or  bitterness,  but  rather,  that  his  faith  sustained 
and  upheld  him  and  that  he  realized  in  special  man- 
ner the  comfort  God  brings  to  those  who  sorrow. 
Returning  to  his  old  home  for  the  Thanksgiving 
holiday  in  1880,  he  writes: 

We  are  all  together  taking  Thanksgiving  dinner — 
parents,  children,  and  grandchildren.  I  thought  of  one 
year  ago  when  father  and  mother  were  at  our  house  and 
my  darling  Emma  prepared  the  feast.  Now  I  am  left 
in  loneliness;  I  write  in  the  room  where  I  saw  my  child 
breathe  out  her  little  life  into  the  arms  of  Christ.  But 
God  upholds  his  children.    His  promises  are  sure. 

Truly  he  sorrowed,  but  not  as  those  who  have  no 
hope,  for  his  strong,  simple  faith  and  trust  brought 
to  him  through  the  sorrow  rich  spiritual  experiences 
which  made  him  increasingly  through  future  years  a 
source  of  comfort  and  helpfulness  to  friends,  neigh- 
bors, and  fellow  workers  in  times  of  affliction. 


CHAPTER  IX 

An  Important  Decision  Reconsidered 

A  Vision  of  the  Future. — Toward  the  close  of  his 
first  decade  as  State  Secretary  he  was  invited  and 
strongly  urged  to  accept  a  position  on  the  faculty 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Training  School  at 
Springfield,  Mass.  This  call  came  undoubtedly  be- 
cause of  his  demonstrated  success  as  a  leader  in  the 
movement  and  his  ever-apparent  qualifications  as 
a  teacher  and  educator.  This  opportunity  again  to 
devote  his  talents  chiefly  to  teaching  and  in  his 
chosen  field  of  service,  together  with  its  freedom 
from  the  burden  of  travel  and  consequent  strain 
upon  his  health,  appealed  strongly  to  him  and  he 
felt  constrained  to  accept.  So  he  presented  his 
resignation,  effective  upon  completion  of  his  tenth 
year.  The  State  Committee,  the  local  Associations, 
and  his  many  friends  in  Illinois,  feeling  that  his 
going  would  be  an  irreparable  loss  to  the  work  in 
the  state,  appealed  to  him  most  strongly  to  recon- 
sider his  decision,  making  modifications  in  his 
duties,  and  providing  for  additional  assistance.  He 
finally  decided  to  remain  in  the  State  Secretaryship, 
and  withdrew  his  resignation.    In  making  this  de- 

46 


AN  IMPORTANT  DECISION  RECONSIDERED    47 

cision  to  remain  in  Illinois,  he  had  in  mind  and  on 
his  heart  the  great  need  for  an  institution  of  learn- 
ing in  the  West,  similar  in  plan  and  purpose  to  the 
Springfield  School,  for  the  training  of  men  for  ex- 
ecutive leadership  in  all  departments  of  Association 
service.  So,  in  the  first  year  of  his  second  decade, 
he  took  the  initiative  in  founding  such  a  school,  its 
original  name  being  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation Training  School.  It  supplemented  the 
beginnings  made  in  the  summer  school  of  the 
Western  Secretarial  Institute  at  Lake  Geneva  by 
two-year  courses  in  Chicago.  He  became  its  first 
President,  served  on  its  faculty,  led  the  new  institu- 
tion in  all  its  stages  of  development,  saw  it  grow 
steadily  in  equipment  and  service,  later  becoming 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  College,  and  spent  the 
last  eight  years  of  his  life  in  its  service  as  one  of  its 
executive  officers,  and  a  member  of  its  faculty.  Thus 
he  made  undoubtedly  a  greater  contribution  to  the 
cause  of  an  educated,  especially  prepared,  and 
trained  leadership  for  the  movement  than  he  could 
have  done  had  his  original  decision  to  accept  the 
Springfield  call  been  carried  out. 

Mr.  Weidensall  in  writing  later  of  this  said :  "Mr. 
Brown  stole  a  march  on  some  of  the  older  Institute 
folks  and  first  outlined  a  policy  for  the  training 
school  in  Chicago."  Undoubtedly  such  a  school  had 
long  been  on  Mr.  Weidensall's  heart,  and  he  re- 
joiced in  the  leadership  given  to  it  by  Mr.  Brown. 
The  important  part  the  College  has  taken  and  is 


48        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

now  taking  in  equipping  leaders  for  the  movement 
throughout  the  nation  and  the  nations  of  the  world 
is  another  evidence  of  his  farsightedness  and  of  his 
spiritual  vision. 


CHAPTER  X 

The  Second  Decade 

With  the  necessary  transformation  in  methods 
and  objective  accomplished,  the  opening  of  the 
second  decade  of  his  service  found  him  ready,  with 
a  well-organized  staff  of  assistants,  with  an  increas- 
ing number  of  associations  reaching  all  types  of 
men,  and  with  increasing  public  favor  and  support. 
Associations  were  planted  in  cities,  colleges,  towns, 
and  railroad  centers.  The  discouragements  were 
many,  especially  in  communities  where  earlier  at- 
tempts to  organize  had  failed.  But  these  were 
courageously  overcome  and  on  the  new  and  larger 
plan  the  organization  attained  a  degree  of  per- 
manency not  possible  upon  the  earlier  basis.  The 
principal  features  of  the  period  from  1890  to  1900 
may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

1.  The  movement  grew  rapidly  in  the  confidence 
and  esteem  of  Christian  people  in  all  parts  of  the 
state. 

2.  There  was  constant  development  and  expan- 
sion. New  associations  were  organized,  not  rapidly 
but  constantly.  Membership  grew  steadily,  new 
secretaries  to  man  the  local  fields  were  secured,  and 

49 


50        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

volunteer  committee  staffs  increased  in  numbers 
and  in  measure  of  interest  in  the  Associations. 

3.  There  was  marked  internal  development  with- 
in the  Associations.  Religious  work  was  systematic- 
ally and  symmetrically  emphasized,  and  Bible 
classes  and  evangelistic  meetings  steadily  built  up. 
Educational  work  began  to  enroll  young  men  in  eve- 
ning study  by  thousands.  Physical  culture  took  on 
a  new  interest,  passing  from  the  earlier  stage  of 
mere  play  or  sport  or  special  individual  athletic 
development,  to  the  new  basis  of  systematic  body 
building  and  character  building  for  health,  efficiency, 
and  Christian  usefulness.  Social  activities  increased 
greatly  in  volume  and  attractiveness  and  became  an 
integral  part  of  the  general  scheme  of  service  for 
the  whole  need  of  every  individual  man. 

4.  A  constant  movement  was  made  toward  more 
adequate  and  more  serviceable  equipment.  Meager 
rooms  occupied  by  the  Associations  at  their  begin- 
ning were  constantly  being  supplanted  by  better 
ones.  In  turn,  rented  rooms  were  gradually  being 
outgrown  and  the  state  was  becoming  dotted  with 
new  buildings  owned  by  the  Associations,  thus  add- 
ing dignity,  force,  and  permanence  to  their  organ- 
ized efforts.  During  this  decade  Mr.  Brown  made 
most  thorough  studies  of  the  architectural  and 
structural  problems  involved  in  Association  build- 
ings and  became  a  leading,  if  not  the  leading,  au- 
thority upon  the  subject  among  the  secretaries  of 
the  country. 


THE  SECOND  DECADE  51 

5.  This  period  witnessed  the  real  development  of 
the  plans  for  an  adequately  educated  and  tech- 
nically trained  employed  staff.  The  summer  courses 
of  the  earlier  years  had  been  of  exceeding  value, 
but  further  training  facilities  were  essential.  So, 
at  the  beginning  of  1890,  Mr.  Brown,  as  related 
elsewhere,  took  the  initiative  and  led  in  forming  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Training  School  at  Chicago, 
becoming  its  first  President.  This  school  was  suc- 
cessful from  the  start,  its  later  merger  with  the 
summer  school  at  Lake  Geneva,  the  combined  in- 
stitution in  time  becoming  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  College,  making  it  a  factor  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  the  successful  administra- 
tion of  the  Association  service  throughout  the  West 
and  throughout  the  entire  movement. 

In  all  these  multiplying  activities,  Mr.  Brown 
was  the  energetic  leader  and  the  wise  counselor. 
Five  of  the  ten  years  were  characterized  by  severe 
business  depression  throughout  the  state,  following 
the  panic  of  1893.  This  naturally  hindered  progress 
and  made  financial  support  for  state  and  local  work 
much  more  difficult  to  obtain.  But  he  knew  no 
such  word  as  discouragement;  courageously,  ener- 
getically, and  enthusiastically  he  "carried  on"  and 
the  years  saw  the  work  constantly  increase  and  ex- 
pand under  his  consecrated,  efficient  leadership. 


CHAPTER  XI 

The  Third  Decade 

The  beginning  of  the  third  decade  of  his  State 
Secretaryship  found  him  at  his  prime,  and  in  a 
place  of  marked  influence  throughout  his  field  and 
the  nation.  His  ripe  experience,  his  sound  judg- 
ment, his  mental  and  spiritual  strength  were  every- 
where respected  and  appreciated;  his  energy  was 
unabated,  and  his  enthusiasm  unwavering.  Always 
a  close  student  of  past  events  and  history,  he  never 
dwelt  at  length  upon  the  past  in  his  thoughts,  but 
vigorously  looked  toward  the  future  and  planned 
for  far-away  results.  He  inspired  his  associates  and 
the  working  forces  of  the  state  to  do  likewise. 

To  a  considerable  extent  the  third  decade,  follow- 
ing the  first  one  of  correction  and  foundation  laying, 
and  the  second  of  expansion,  was  one  of  internal 
improvement  and  intensive  development.  The 
leading  characteristics  of  the  second  decade  con- 
tinued, however,  on  through  the  third,  and  with  the 
new  ones  of  the  latter  period,  may  be  summarized 
as  follows: 

1.  A  constant  increase  in  public  favor.  The  an- 
nual report  for  1906  says:  "So  complete  has  become 
the  foothold  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 

52 


THE  THIRD  DECADE  53 

ciation  movement  in  Illinois,  that,  under  careful 
guidance,  its  growth  year  by  year  is  becoming  phe- 
nomenal." Also,  in  1907,  with  the  ever-forward 
look  his  report  says:  "The  Associations  of  the  State 
are  upon  the  threshold  of  greater  achievements  than 
ever  realized  or  dreamed  of  before." 

2.  Continued  intensive  development  of  existing 
Associations  and  constant  expansion  into  new  fields. 
Membership  increased,  and  greater  numbers  of 
young  men  were  benefited  every  year  through  Bible 
classes  and  evangelistic  meetings,  educational  and 
gymnasium  class  instruction,  and  organized  social 
activities. 

3.  Acquirement  of  buildings.  In  this  decade  it 
came  to  be  almost  a  settled  policy  that  no  new 
Association  in  a  city  would  be  established  without 
first  securing  funds  for  a  building.  At  the  middle 
of  the  period  there  was  a  larger  number  of  new 
buildings  under  construction  than  at  any  other  one 
time  in  the  history  of  the  work.  College  communi- 
ties, likewise,  in  some  instances  secured  buildings 
and  there  was  increased  corporate  support  from 
railroads  for  buildings  for  railroad  employees.  Dur- 
ing the  period  the  short-term  intensive  campaign 
for  building  funds  came  into  general  use  and  was 
uniformly  successful. 

4.  The  maintenance  of  the  state  work  at  full 
strength.  It  was  no  small  burden  to  keep  up  and 
finance  the  state  organization  through  a  period  of 
further  financial  depression  following  the  panic  of 


54        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

1907.  But  the  energy  and  zeal  of  the  State  Sec- 
retary solved  this  problem.  At  about  this  time  the 
first  cash  legacy  of  $10,000  was  received  for  the 
state  work,  soon  to  be  followed  by  others.  Through 
the  years  a  multitude  of  givers  of  small  amounts 
were  raised  up  and  this  substantial  basis  of  sup- 
port could  be  depended  upon  even  through  panics. 

5.  Organization  for  special  groups  and  classes. 
The  student  work  was  steadily  emphasized  and  prac- 
tically every  college  in  the  state  had  an  association. 
Railroad  work  grew  constantly  in  its  practical  min- 
istry to  employees,  and  in  its  appreciation  by  rail- 
road officials.  The  county  unit  of  organization  was 
established  for  the  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
young  men  scattered  in  the  villages  and  on  the 
farms.  Special  emphasis  was  laid  upon  organized 
activities  for  boys  under  trained  leaders,  and  with 
gratifying  results.  Even  in  the  State  Reformatory 
a  special  Association  was  formed  and  permanently 
maintained,  it  proving  to  be  a  great  benefit  to  the 
hundreds  of  inmates  and  a  factor  greatly  appreci- 
ated by  the  institution  officials  in  maintaining 
wholesome  discipline  and  establishing  correct  and 
high  ideals  of  character  and  conduct. 

6.  The  growth  of  the  work  in  Illinois  and 
throughout  the  country  brought  its  problems  of  or- 
ganization and  relationships,  there  being  marked 
differences  of  judgment  between  strong  leaders  of 
international,  state,  and  local  associations  upon 
questions  of  Association  policy.     Throughout 


* 


THE  THIRD  DECADE  55 

these  multiplied  negotiations  and  conferences,  he 
was  most  patient  and  considerate  in  his  negotiations, 
wise  and  tactful  in  his  attitude  toward  those  differ- 
ing with  him,  and  firm  in  his  convictions  as  to  the 
wisdom  of  recognizing  the  autonomy  and  authority 
of  the  local  Association — a  policy  which  has  been 
sustained  through  the  years  as  fundamentally  cor- 
rect. He  stood  for  the  primary  responsibility  of  the 
local  Association,  and  for  the  state  organizations 
within  the  boundaries  of  the  states,  for  all  phases 
of  the  Association  development. 

7.  Throughout  this  decade,  his  personal  influence 
was  most  marked  and  constantly  growing.  Workers 
everywhere  prized  his  counsel  upon  all  their  prob- 
lems and  frequently  traveled  long  distances  for  per- 
sonal consultations  with  him.  In  many  instances 
these  interviews  were  vital  factors — in  some,  the 
determining  factor — in  the  choice  of  life  work,  in 
the  choice  of  one's  future  field  of  service,  in  the 
decision  to  shape  the  course  of  one's  life  anew,  in 
getting  a  firmer  grip  upon  higher  ideals  and  pur- 
poses, and  in  moving  forward  into  a  life  of  greater 
victory  and  achievement.  Most  of  his  interviews 
were  much  more  than  casual  conversations,  they 
were  consultations  affecting  life  and  work.  Men 
trusted  him,  and  eagerly  sought  his  counsel,  in- 
cluding successful  leaders  and  experienced  fellow- 
workers.  They  turned  to  him  in  perplexities  and 
emergencies,  followed  his  example,  and  depended  on 
his  leadership.     It  was   the   testimony   of  many 


56        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

younger  secretaries  that  they  derived  more  of  actual 
help  from  his  kindly,  frank,  wise  counsel;  from  his 
tactful,  friendly  way  of  pointing  out  weaknesses 
which  must  be  overcome;  and  from  his  keen  anal- 
ysis, decisive  reasoning  and  clear  judgment,  than 
from  any  other  source.  Mr.  Weidensall  said  of  him, 
"He  had  no  superior  as  an  interviewer." 

His  capacity  to  create  friendships  was  almost  un- 
limited, for  his  friendships  were  many  and  ever  in- 
creasing, and  they  were  characterized  by  depth  and 
constancy.  His  power  in  personal  counsel,  his 
ability  to  help  men  reach  definite  decisions  and  to 
decide  important  questions  wisely  was  an  outstand- 
ing characteristic  of  his  life,  and  it  increased  steadily 
as  the  years  passed.  It  is  notable  that  Dr.  John  R. 
Mott,  some  three  years  after  Mr.  Brown's  death,  at 
a  meeting  of  the  International  Committee,  in 
Chicago,  publicly  expressed  his  deep  sense  of  obliga- 
tion to  him  for  invaluable  help  and  personal  counsel 
to  him  in  his  earliest  years  of  service. 

To  trace  his  influence  in  individual  lives  would  be 
a  fascinating  and  almost  endless  study  and  would 
furnish  material  for  a  volume.  He  was  a  great 
student,  a  lover  of  books,  and  an  extensive  reader; 
and  it  naturally  followed  that  he  was  not,  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  the  term  "a  good  mixer."  But 
the  measure  of  his  interest  in  his  fellow  men,  his 
good  will  toward  them,  the  warmth  of  his  wishes  for 
their  success  and  happiness,  his  constant  readiness 
to  extend  helpful  advice  and  counsel  made  him  far 


THE  THIRD  DECADE  57 

more  serviceable  than  though  he  had  been  so  classi- 
fied. For  his  contacts  through  the  years  created 
friendships  strong  and  permanent,  moulded  char- 
acter, made  paths  of  duty  and  opportunity  clearer 
to  see  and  easier  to  follow.  He  was  a  thinker  and 
an  adept  in  transmitting  his  ideas  and  ideals,  his 
convictions,  his  enthusiasms,  and  his  lofty  purposes 
into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  others.  He  constantly 
imparted  countless  spiritual  gifts  to  those  who  came 
into  contact  with  him  in  any  way.  He  thrust  his 
life  out  into  the  lives  of  his  friends  and  fellow 
workers  in  such  ways  as  to  enrich  them  and  make 
them  better  and  more  useful  for  having  known  him. 
As  typical  of  his  extraordinary  personal  influence, 
the  following  two  expressions  from  men  in  different 
callings  are  mentioned  here.  His  own  pastor  said 
of  him: 

I  realize  more  and  more  how  much  he  meant  to  me, 
and  will  always  mean.  The  lessons  in  moderation,  cour- 
age, faithfulness  and  hope  which  I  learned  through  con- 
tact with  him  are  a  part  of  the  warp  and  woof  of  my  life. 

And  a  leading  general  secretary  in  a  metropolitan 
city  said: 

Mr.  Brown  gave  direction  to  my  Christian  service 
and  I  hold  him  in  the  highest  esteem  of  any  man  I  have 
met  throughout  my  life. 

And  so  he  labored  on  through  these  three  decades, 
growing  constantly  in  personal  power  and  influence. 


58        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

The  arrival  and  passing  of  the  years  of  middle  life 
saw  no  abatement  of  his  energies  and  his  strong 
enthusiasms.  The  organized  forces  of  the  Associa- 
tion increased  steadily  under  his  leadership.  In 
the  thirtieth  year  of  his  State  Secretaryship,  at  the 
age  of  sixty,  and  with  his  work  at  full  tide  of  suc- 
cess, he  received  and  after  mature  deliberation 
accepted  the  invitation  to  become  Dean  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  College,  the  in- 
stitution he  had  founded,  believing  that  in  this 
position  he  would  render  the  crowning  service  of  his 
life. 


CHAPTER  XII 

Devotion  to  His  Field 

Rarely  ever  has  a  man  taken  his  life  work  more 
seriously  than  did  Mr.  Brown.  He  regarded  the 
entire  state  as  his  field  of  service  and  he  felt  a  deep 
responsibility  not  only  for  the  success  and  useful- 
ness of  every  Association  in  the  state,  but  also  for 
the  moral  welfare  of  every  young  man  in  Illinois, 
in  metropolis,  city,  town,  college,  railroad  center 
or  farm;  hence  his  heart  was  burdened  for  the  cities 
and  other  centers  having  no  organized  associations. 
He  thought,  planned,  prayed,  and  hoped  for  those 
swarming  multitudes  of  young  men.  Particularly 
did  his  great  heart  go  out  toward  the  country  towns 
where  workers  were  few,  leaders  scarce  and  con- 
stantly removing,  making  permanence  in  organiza- 
tion well-nigh  impossible.  But  here  were  countless 
thousands  of  able  young  men  capable  of  being 
reached  with  inspirational,  cultural,  and  gospel  in- 
fluences, and  they  commanded  his  deepest  affection 
and  concern.  He  stood  firmly  as  a  champion  of  the 
county  form  of  organization,  where  many  strong 
and  wise  leaders  doubted  its  practicability.  He  re- 
joiced in  the  large  network  of  corresponding  mem- 
bers in  country  towns  in  the  interest  they  developed, 

59 


60        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

and  in  the  thousands  of  young  men,  who,  removing, 
were  followed  by  friendly  letters  to  new  localities 
and  in  the  new  contacts  with  Christian  influences 
which  these  letters  established.  His  great  soul 
sought  the  highest  good  of  all  within  his  field,  and 
every  good  result  flowing  from  any  phase  of  the 
work  anywhere  in  the  state  brought  joy  to  his  heart 
and  caused  him  to  express  his  great  gratitude.  For, 
through  all  the  multiplied  organizations  and  ac- 
tivities, he  saw  the  will  of  God  being  wrought  into 
the  lives  of  those  for  whom  his  life  was  being  poured 
out,  and  he  rejoiced  in  the  privilege  of  having  a 
part  in  it.  This  attitude  of  mind  toward  his  field 
and  his  work  kept  him  constantly  hopeful  and  en- 
thusiastic, even  through  periods  of  discouragement 
and  depression.  No  more  optimistic  spirit  ever 
engaged  in  a  great  task,  and  no  one  ever  maintained 
the  spirit  of  optimism  more  constantly. 

Throughout  the  thirty  years,  while  his  sym- 
pathies touched  constantly  the  whole  country,  as 
well  as  the  nations  of  the  earth,  he  manifested  a 
measure  of  devotion  to  his  particular  field  such  as 
has  been  seen  in  but  few  leaders. 

SERVICE   AT    CONVENTIONS   AND    CONFERENCES 

One  great  feature  of  his  work  through  nearly  four 
decades  of  active  service  was  his  attendance  at  and 
participation  in  the  programs  of  many  state  con- 
ventions of  the  associations.    Every  year  urgent  in- 


DEVOTION  TO  HIS  FIELD  61 

vitations  from  other  State  Secretaries  reached  him 
to  "come  over  and  help  us."  His  own  work  per- 
mitted the  acceptance  of  but  few,  but  each  year  he 
accepted  at  least  one,  sometimes  several,  usually 
giving  preference  to  states  not  previously  visited. 

At  these  gatherings  he  was  called  upon  to  present 
studies  of  Association  activities,  to  give  addresses 
upon  spiritual  and  inspirational  themes,  to  address 
banquets  of  business  men,  to  lead  discussions  in 
conferences  of  Association  groups,  to  preside  over 
financial  sessions,  to  speak  in  pulpits,  to  conduct 
farewell  meetings,  and  to  give  counsel  regarding 
tried  and  tested  methods  in  Association  work.  This 
important  and  responsible  service,  with  its  heavy  de- 
mands upon  time  both  in  travel,  study  and  prepara- 
tion, and  upon  physical,  mental,  and  nervous  energy 
was  rendered  in  the  same  thorough,  careful,  and  con- 
scientious manner  which  characterized  all  his  work. 
Its  great  helpfulness  to  the  delegates  and  to  the  con- 
ventions was  invariably  a  matter  of  grateful  expres- 
sion of  deep  appreciation  from  the  state  visited.  It 
caused  him  to  be  sought  for  eagerly  from  far  and 
near  and  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  he  could 
possibly  respond  to  favorably.  But  he  found  great 
joy  in  responding  to  a  moderate  extent  and  especially 
in  assisting  the  states  where  the  work  was  new  and 
leaders  scarce. 

Likewise,  in  the  International  Conventions,  Con- 
ferences of  Employed  Officers,  State  Secretaries' 
Conferences,  and  other  similar  gatherings,  he  was 


62        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

constantly  called  upon  to  participate  and  invariably 
took  a  conspicuously  helpful  part  in  a  most  modest 
way.  All  of  this  service  was,  in  the  main,  apart  from 
and  additional  to  his  regular  work;  through  it  he 
exerted  an  influence  nothing  short  of  a  constructive 
force,  nation-wide  in  extent  and  valuable  beyond 
power  of  computation.  Thus,  in  true  Christian  spirit 
and  with  real  missionary  motive  and  purpose,  he 
generously  shared  with  others  his  great  wealth  of 
mental  and  spiritual  resources,  his  ripe  experience, 
and  his  unbounded  enthusiasm  for  the  work  he 
loved  so  well. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

His  Work  at  Lake  Geneva 

Early  in  his  service,  he,  with  other  leaders  and 
fellow  workers,  came  to  feel  the  need  of  a  place 
where  both  secretaries  and  laymen  and  their  families 
could  assemble  under  favorable  circumstances  for 
rest,  recreation,  fellowship,  mutual  conference,  and 
study.  Accordingly,  he,  in  cooperation  with  Robert 
Weidensall  and  W.  E.  Lewis,  took  the  lead  in  as- 
sembling his  fellow  workers  at  Camp  Collie,  on 
Lake  Geneva,  Wisconsin.  This  is  a  beautifully  lo- 
cated spot,  now  known  as  Conference  Point.  Here 
the  great  benefit  and  enjoyment  of  the  summer 
weeks  in  two  different  years  still  further  convinced 
these  three  men  of  God  that  a  great  field  of  useful 
service  existed  through  the  agency  of  a  summer 
school  and  recreation  center,  and  that  larger  facili- 
ties and  the  permanent  ownership  of  its  own 
property  should  be  planned  for,  seeing,  as  all  of 
them  did,  that  here  lay  an  opportunity  which 
would,  if  improved,  become  a  vital,  essential  ele- 
ment in  the  development  of  the  Association  idea  in 
the  West,  through  all  future  years.  It  was  on 
August  12,  1884,  that  these  three  prophets  of  the 
early  days  spent  the  afternoon  together  on  the  hill- 

63 


64        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

side,  planning  and  praying  for  Divine  guidance,  as 
they  decided  to  carry  forward  a  larger  movement 
and  found  a  new  and  permanent  institution.  Nat- 
urally Lake  Geneva,  unequalled  in  natural  beauty 
and  convenient  in  location,  was  the  only  spot  con- 
sidered for  the  new  home.  Very  soon  thereafter 
ground  less  than  a  mile  from  the  hillside  where  they 
sat  was  selected  and  purchased.  Two  years  later, 
he  participated  in  the  dedicatory  camp  fire.  Mr. 
Wiedensall,  writing  in  later  years  of  these  begin- 
nings says: 

Mr.  Brown  was  one  of  the  three  who  by  prayer  and 
conference  for  a  whole  afternoon  outlined  the  purposes 
and  fundamental  rules  of  the  Institute  that  have  never 
since  required  any  radical  changes. 

Continuously  thereafter  for  a  third  of  a  century 
he  was  a  leading  factor  in  all  of  the  training  and 
cultural  activities  of  which  Lake  Geneva  became  the 
center.  The  first  name  of  the  organization  was 
"The  Western  Secretarial  Institute,"  he  serving  as 
a  director  and  as  treasurer  in  the  earliest  years. 
Later  he  was  chosen  president,  succeeding  the 
lamented  W.  E.  Lewis  who  had  poured  all  the 
wealth  of  his  deeply  spiritual  nature  into  the  under- 
taking and  who  in  August,  1890,  was  translated  al- 
most as  Enoch  of  old,  from  his  tent  on  the  spot  he 
loved  so  well.  After  a  few  years,  the  Lake  Geneva 
organization  was  legally  merged  with  the  Training 
School  of  Chicago  and  a  layman  secured  for  Presi- 


HIS  WORK  AT  LAKE  GENEVA  65 

dent.  Mr.  Brown  remained  on  the  board  and  as  a 
member  of  the  faculty  for  both  the  winter  and  the 
summer  courses,  teaching  chiefly  fundamental  As- 
sociation principles,  courses  in  building,  and  in  busi- 
ness, and  financial  management,  and  some  courses 
in  Bible  study  and  church  history.  His  regular 
classroom  work  at  Lake  Geneva  was  supplemented 
by  many  informal  addresses  upon  educational  and 
inspirational  themes,  and  by  twilight  talks,  leader- 
ship of  frequent  group  conferences,  and  prayer  ser- 
vices in  the  woods,  and  by  personal  conferences 
with  hundreds  of  students  and  secretaries,  which 
were  of  a  value  absolutely  inestimable  to  all.  Here, 
on  the  shores  of  the  beautiful  lake,  in  the  adjoin- 
ing woods,  on  hillside  or  in  tent  or  recitation  hall, 
through  his  great  gifts  as  a  wise,  helpful,  personal 
counsellor  on  vital  problems  in  life  and  in  work,  he 
rendered  one  of  the  greatest  pieces  of  service  any 
man  ever  rendered  for  his  fellows.  Many  are  the 
successful  leaders  who  look  back  with  deepest  joy 
and  gratitude  to  the  decisive  helpfulness  of  these 
individual  consultations.  Through  them  far-reach- 
ing life  decisions  were  made,  spiritual  victories  were 
achieved,  and  destinies  were  determined. 

Several  years  before  his  death,  one  of  the  fine  new 
buildings  of  the  summer  campus  was  named  in  his 
honor  "The  I.  E.  Brown  Recitation  Hall,"  and  was 
dedicated  one  afternoon  in  a  delightfully  informal 
manner,  in  the  presence  of  a  considerate  group  of 
his  fellow  teachers,  students,  and  secretaries.    More 


66        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

than  a  dozen  of  these  associates  spoke  of  his  mar- 
velous influence;  of  the  great  effectiveness  of  his 
work  as  teacher,  leader  and  counselor;  of  their  high 
esteem  and  deep  affection  for  him,  and  their  in- 
debtedness to  him  for  mental  and  spiritual  inspi- 
ration. Then  there  was  unveiled  a  life-size  portrait 
of  him.  Here,  in  athletic  costume,  he  listened  to 
those  tributes  and  responded  with  characteristic 
brevity,  modesty,  and  humor,  using  only  twelve 
words,  "I  can  only  say  that  both  the  picture  and 
the  friends  greatly  exaggerate." 

In  the  summer  of  1911,  the  twenty-fifth  an- 
niversary of  the  dedicatory  camp  fire  and  prayer 
service  was  celebrated  on  the  identical  spot.  Mr. 
Brown  presided  and  spoke  briefly  upon  "Early 
Traditions  of  Lake  Geneva,"  summarizing  them  as 
follows: 

1.  Appreciation  and  enjoyment  of  beauty  in 
nature. 

2.  Pleasurable  and  valuable  social  life  and  social 
occasions. 

3.  Training  for  larger  usefulness  and  greater  ser- 
vice— a  conclusion  reached  at  the  memorable  first- 
hillside  conference. 

4.  Maintaining  a  calm,  quiet  Sunday. 

5.  Life  decisions,  first  to  begin  the  Christian  life, 
second  to  enter  Christian  service  as  a  life  calling, 
third  to  remain  in  Christian  callings  when  inclined 
through  discouragement  or  other  causes  to  leave, 


HIS  WORK  AT  LAKE  GENEVA  67 

illustrated  by  decisions  of  Fletcher  S.  Brockman, 
Fred  B.  Smith  and  others. 

6.  Spiritual  uplift,  reaching  higher  levels,  catch- 
ing of  new  and  greater  visions,  looking  out  on  a 
broader  horizon. 

7.  A  place  of  prayer,  as  reflected  in  the  morning 
assembly,  the  earlier  private  observance  of  the 
"morning  watch,"  the  dedicatory  camp  fire  which 
was  a  service  of  prayer,  the  night  of  prayer  spent  by 
W.  E.  Lewis  alone  in  the  woods  here,  pleading  with 
God  that  the  place  might  ever  be  sacred  and  its 
spiritual  possibilities  realized. 

8.  The  tradition  of  a  world-wide  vision — the  large 
part  taken  by  the  Lake  Geneva  institution  in  in- 
spiring and  training  men  for  positions  of  usefulness 
in  foreign  lands. 

"These  are  the  traditions  of  the  past;  upon  us 
rests  the  responsibility  of  preserving  and  intensify- 
ing these  traditions  for  the  generations  yet  to  come," 
he  said  in  closing.  To  him  it  was  a  sacred  spot,  al- 
ways a  center  of  spiritual  inspiration.  More  than 
any  other  one  man  of  the  remarkable  group  of 
founders,  he  helped  to  create,  intensify,  and  con- 
tinue these  traditions.  And  so,  through  all  the  years 
of  his  work  he  served  thousands  in  this  haven  of 
rest,  instruction,  and  inspiration.  His  name  is  thus 
inseparably  linked  to  this  unique  institution,  as  one 
of  the  founders,  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
centers  of  Christian  influence  anywhere  in  the  world. 
Through  a  third  of  a  century  he  made  it  a  constant 


68        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

beneficiary  of  his  finest  intellectual  and  spiritual 
gifts.  It  was  a  leading  factor  in  his  singularly  use- 
ful and  influential  life,  and  through  it  he  served  not 
only  his  own  generation,  but  posterity  as  well.  For 
as  long  as  men  and  women  meet  on  the  shores  of 
beautiful  Lake  Geneva  for  rest,  instruction,  and  in- 
spiration for  Christian  living  and  serving,  his  name 
and  the  influence  of  his  life  will  be  felt  as  a  great 
spiritual  force. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
His  Home  Life 

Rarely  does  one  find  a  home  life  so  near  to  the 
ideal  as  was  that  of  Mr.  Brown.  Soon  after  his 
marriage  on  December  28,  1881,  to  Miss  Mary  John- 
son, of  Decatur,  he  carried  out  one  of  his  firm  con- 
victions, namely,  that  every  family  should  own  a 
home,  by  purchasing  a  comfortable  residence  in 
Oak  Park.  He  made  regular  payments  upon  this 
for  a  period  of  over  ten  years,  until  it  was  fully  paid 
for.  He  frequently  advised  secretaries  who  sought 
his  counsel  on  this  question  that  it  was  a  desirable 
thing  for  every  family  to  own  the  roof  over  its 
head. 

In  the  home  which  he  acquired,  their  lives  cen- 
tered, and  here  throughout  nearly  thirty-six  years  of 
happy  married  life  they  lived,  and  together  shared 
their  joys  and  carried  the  burdens  incident  to  his 
responsible  and  exacting  position.  Here  were  born 
their  three  children,  Alice,  Arthur  Earle,  and 
Florence;  little  Arthur  receiving  his  summons  to 
the  homeland  in  his  third  year.  His  home  was  al- 
ways to  him  vastly  more  than  merely  a  place  for 
life's  ordinary  and  routine  necessities  and  con- 
venience.   It  was  the  center  of  his  heart  life,  where 

69 


70        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

there  ever  burned  those  "home  fires"  of  affectionate 
devotion  and  loving  service.  It  was  a  place  of  ser- 
vice, of  rest,  of  worship,  and  of  mental  and  spiritual 
culture,  as  well  as  a  center  of  the  most  gracious  and 
abundant  hospitality.  At  home  he  loved  dearly  to 
be,  to  read,  study,  rest,  plan,  visit,  serving  his  loved 
ones,  his  friends,  neighbors,  and  associates.  His 
devotion  to  his  family  was  most  marked.  Mrs. 
Brown  shared  with  him  to  an  exceptional  degree  the 
joys,  burdens,  perplexities,  and  responsibilities  of 
his  vocation,  and  he,  to  a  degree  far  greater  than 
most  men,  shared  in  the  details  of  the  household 
plans,  and  its  innumerable  duties.  It  was  one  of 
the  burdens  of  his  position  to  be  away  from  home  so 
much.  But  the  absence  in  the  line  of  duty  was  al- 
ways interpreted  to  be  an  opportunity,  not  a  bur- 
den. Throughout  the  years  of  his  traveling  work, 
it  was  his  custom  to  write  home  every  day,  fre- 
quently long  and  interesting  descriptions  of  places 
visited  and  persons  met,  but  always  at  least  a  daily 
line  of  affectionate  greeting,  if  engagements  were 
too  absorbing  to  allow  time  for  the  longer  word. 

Always  he  maintained,  in  the  intimacy  of  the 
family  circle,  that  high  sense  of  courtesy  and  kindli- 
ness which  is  characteristic  of  the  perfect  gentle- 
man. He  never  permitted  the  irritations  and 
annoyances  arising  in  the  course  of  daily  work  to 
cross  the  threshold  of  his  home.  At  times  when 
multiplied  burdens  so  pressed  as  to  cause  throbbing 
headaches  or  tingling  nerves,  his  tone  of  voice  was 


HIS  HOME  LIFE  71 

always  cheerful  and  his  greeting  affectionate. 
Never  did  a  father  plan  more  devotedly  for  the 
education  and  happiness  of  his  daughters,  than  he. 
One  of  the  keenest  sorrows  of  his  life  was  that  his 
sons  were  not  spared  to  grow  to  manhood;  his 
daughters  thus  growing  up  without  a  brother,  he 
made  it  one  of  his  chief  objects  to  maintain  with 
them  a  spirit  of  comradeship,  becoming  their  close 
companion  and  counselor. 

He  rejoiced  in  the  freedom  and  relaxation  of 
home,  but  always  planned  his  time  at  home  in  ad- 
vance, using  it  to  good  advantage  and  for  definite 
accomplishment,  for  mental  and  spiritual  culture, 
as  well  as  for  needed  rest  and  quiet. 

The  home  life  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  was  char- 
acterized to  an  altogether  exceptional  degree  by  the 
Christian  grace  of  hospitality.  Without  exception, 
every  new  Secretary  coming  to  his  staff  was  invited 
to  their  home  early  in  his  work,  and  on  oft-repeated 
occasions.  Through  a  long  period  of  years,  at  least 
annually,  and  often  more  frequently,  the  monthly 
conference  of  the  State  Secretaries  was  invited  to 
meet  at  the  Brown  home,  spending  the  entire  day 
in  conference,  prayer,  study,  and  good  fellowship. 
The  bounteous  noon  dinner  prepared  by  Mrs. 
Brown  with  her  exceptional  skill  was  always  a  rare 
treat  to  the  group  whose  work  compelled  them  to 
be  away  from  home  and  accustomed  to  hotel  fare. 
Annually  for  twenty  years,  they  entertained  the 
students  of  the  Association  College  at  an  evening 


72        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

dinner,  occasions  which  stand  out  in  the  memory 
of  these  soon  to  become  leaders  in  the  movement. 
On  two  occasions  a  Brown  family  reunion  was  held 
in  the  home,  bringing  together  many  relatives,  with 
interesting  family  and  historical  sketches. 

Moreover,  hundreds  of  visiting  Association 
leaders,  both  secretaries  and  laymen,  were  from  time 
to  time  welcomed  to  the  home.  Nearly  every  foreign 
secretary  going  to  or  returning  from  the  foreign  field 
was  systematically  extended  the  hospitality  of  the 
home.  To  entertain  thus  these  leaders  in  other 
lands  was  always  regarded  by  him  as  a  great  privi- 
lege, and  he  counted  it  as  a  part  of  the  education 
of  his  daughters  to  have  them  know  these  leaders 
and  their  great  work.  In  the  autobiography  of 
Richard  C.  Morse,  we  read  of  his  own  home  life: 
"The  two  guest  rooms  were  kept  ready  for  use  at 
a  moment's  notice  and  were  seldom  empty.  Friends 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  were  welcome  to  them." 
Exactly  the  same  is  true  of  the  Brown  home.  Nearly 
every  holiday,  found  some  one,  and  often  quite  a 
group  of  friends,  relatives,  or  associates,  gathered 
under  the  hospitable  roof,  sharing  in  the  comforts 
of  the  beautiful,  simple  home  life,  the  entire  atmos- 
phere of  which  was  permeated  with  the  spirit  of 
friendliness  and  earnest  devotion,  and  with  the 
highest  ideals  of  useful  living  and  serving.  It  was 
always  a  special  joy  to  him  to  "bid  to  a  feast"  ac- 
cording to  the  scriptural  rule,  those  for  whom  noth- 
ing is  prepared — the  stranger  away  from  home.  But 


HIS  HOME  LIFE  73 

his  earnest  devotion  to  the  higher  things  of  the  mind 
and  heart  never  led  to  being  over  serious,  for  the 
happy,  cheerful  spirit  always  prevailed,  and  the 
ordinary  affairs  and  interests  of  all  the  family  and 
guests  were  never  excluded.  He  had  a  keen  sense 
of  humor,  could  tell  amusing  stories,  incidents,  and 
experiences  in  fascinating  manner,  and  always  en- 
joyed greatly  those  told  by  others.  He  was  a  model 
host,  always  at  ease,  and  an  exceptionally  interest- 
ing conversationalist  upon  any  subject  introduced. 
Teachers  enjoyed  a  sense  of  comradeship,  mis- 
sionaries found  him  remarkably  well  informed  as 
to  their  fields  and  problems  and  sympathetically 
responsive  to  their  tasks.  Elderly  people  were  im- 
pressed by  his  fine  sense  of  courtesy  and  kindly 
deference.  Many  a  diffident  youth  or  college  student 
has  been  agreeably  surprised  to  learn  his  familiarity 
with  all  current  athletic  news  and  contests.  But 
his  fine  sense  of  courtesy  in  the  home  was  never  of 
the  kind  put  on  for  any  special  occasion.  Whether 
guests  were  present  or  not,  it  was  always  the  same 
to  each  member  of  the  household,  and  to  any  one 
helping  in  the  household  tasks.  And  in  all  the 
friendly  hospitality  of  so  many  years,  as  host  to  so 
many,  of  different  types  and  temperaments,  it  was 
remarkable  that  he  would  absolutely  never  argue  a 
point  of  difference.  Any  one  seeking  to  draw  him 
into  an  argument  invariably  met  a  friendly  nod,  a 
quiet  "ump"  and  a  noncommittal  attitude  so  far 
as  argument  in  the  home  was  concerned.    The  keen 


74        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

analyses,  the  decisive  answers  and  ready  responses, 
the  systematic  points  so  characteristic  of  him  in  de- 
bates and  business  discussions  were  never  intro- 
duced into  his  home.  The  heated  discussions  likely 
to  arise  from  the  petty  annoyances  and  irritations 
of  daily  life,  were  wholly  foreign  to  his  home  life 
and  family  circle.  He  was  both  father  and  brother 
to  his  daughters,  ever  kind  and  indulgent,  ready  to 
grant  favors  when  possible,  and  when  his  judgment 
made  refusals  wise,  he  could  be  as  firm  as  he  was 
kind.  He  always  gave  wise,  helpful  counsel  to  all, 
the  result  of  his  careful  and  accurate  judgment, 
and  always  in  the  kindliest  spirit,  never  as  a 
dictator. 

The  part  which  his  ideally  and  exceptionally 
happy  home  life  had  in  making  his  life  work  so 
uniformly  strong  and  successful  can  never  be  fully 
known.  But  it  demonstrates  to  a  remarkable 
degree,  that  any  man  who  would  be  of  the  largest 
service  may  well  give  the  most  earnest  heed  and 
systematic  attention,  and  reasonably  liberal  por- 
tions by  his  time,  to  the  duties  of  his  life  at  home, 
and  thus  intensify  his  happiness  and  increase  his 
usefulness. 


CHAPTER  XV 

Service  to  His  Home  Church  and  Denomination 

Although  his  work  was  essentially  interdenomina- 
tional, he  always  maintained  a  vital  interest  in  and 
a  close  relationship  to  his  own  denomination,  the 
Congregational,  for  whose  principles  and  forms  of 
Church  government  he  had  the  strongest  admiration. 
His  support  to  his  own  local  church,  in  attendance, 
in  service,  and  financially  was  always  most  regular 
and  loyal.  He  was  always  a  warm  friend  of  and 
a  close  counselor  to  his  pastor  and  was  a  student 
of  the  needs  and  of  the  opportunities  of  the  church 
to  which  he  belonged.  Immediately  upon  estab- 
lishing residence  in  Oak  Park,  he  became  related  to 
the  First  Congregational  Church  there,  serving  in 
different  official  positions.  Here  the  environment 
was  congenial,  the  friendships  many  and  strong. 
But,  upon  the  founding  of  the  Third  Congregational 
Church,  he,  with  the  real  missionary  spirit  char- 
acteristic of  his  whole  life,  transferred  his  member- 
ship to  it,  foregoing  the  greater  personal  pleasure 
of  the  larger  church,  in  order  to  serve  in  a  new  en- 
terprise, where  the  workers  were  few  and  the  need 
very  great.  Here  for  nearly  twenty-five  years  he 
served,  placing  his  ripe  experience,  his  wide  knowl- 

75 


76        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

edge,  and  his  many  talents  at  the  service  of  the  little 
group  in  every  official  capacity,  in  countless  ways 
strengthening  its  work.  For  many  years  he  served 
as  church  treasurer,  systematizing  the  finances  of 
the  church  and  putting  them  on  a  good  basis.  When 
duties  permitted  his  presence  on  Sundays  he  taught 
a  Bible  class  of  young  men.  He  served  as  a  deacon, 
and  when  not  away  in  his  regular  work,  was  in- 
variably present  at  and  participated  helpfully  in  the 
midweek  meeting.  Every  pastor  of  the  church 
bears  impressive  testimony  to  the  encouragement, 
the  inspiration,  the  practical  helpfulness  of  his 
friendship  and  counsel.  He  maintained  membership 
in  the  Congregational  Club  of  Chicago,  served  on 
its  committees  and  as  one  of  its  vice-presidents.  He 
was  chosen  as  a  delegate  to  the  National  Council 
of  Congregational  Churches.  In  loyalty  to  his  own 
local  church  and  to  his  denomination,  and  in  ser- 
vice rendered  to  and  through  them,  he  was  an  ex- 
ample to  all. 

AS   A   CITIZEN 

Along  with  his  close  and  constant  studies  of  the 
underlying  principles  and  the  rapidly  developing 
processes  of  his  chosen  life  work,  and  an  intimate 
contact  with  the  best  thought  in  all  fields  of  church 
and  religious  activities,  he  maintained  an  equally 
constant  interest  in  civic  and  community  affairs  and 
with  national  and  world  problems.  He  always 
planned  his  appointments  to  permit  voting  at  all 


SERVICE  TO  HIS  HOME  CHURCH  77 

elections,  even  the  minor  ones,  which  many  good 
citizens  neglect.  He  encouraged  others  to  do  like- 
wise. Upon  all  local  and  national  issues  he  had  firm 
convictions  and,  while  never  emphatic  in  relation 
to  them,  he  was  always  prepared  to  give  clear 
reasons  for  his  conclusions  which  manifested  careful 
thought  and  mature  consideration.  He  served  for 
a  time  by  earnest  request  of  his  fellow  citizens,  as  a 
trustee  of  the  Oak  Park  and  River  Forest  High 
School,  placing  his  intimate  knowledge  of  educa- 
tional problems,  his  ripe  experience,  and  his  broad 
outlook  at  the  service  of  his  community.  He  showed 
appreciation  of  the  part  his  ancestors  took  in  the 
early  settlement  of  the  country  by  membership  in 
the  Alden  Kindred  of  America;  and  of  the  part  they 
took  in  helping  to  achieve  national  independence  by 
membership  in  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion. While  his  work  for  many  years  was  such  as 
to  compel  frequent  absence,  he  entered  heartily  into 
the  community  life  and  sought  ever  to  do  his  full 
part  and  more  in  the  common  tasks,  making  the 
largest  possible  contribution  to  general  welfare  of 
all. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

A  Man  of  Prayer 

The  great  mental  and  spiritual  strength  of  Mr. 
Brown  was  manifested  in  many  ways,  but  in 
none  more  impressively  and  helpfully  than  in  his 
public  and  private  prayers  and  in  his  individual 
prayer  life.  For  to  him,  prayer  was  not  merely  a 
custom,  it  was  a  life.  He  lived  and  labored  by 
prayer.  From  early  boyhood,  his  every  decision 
was  reached  only  after  earnest  and  searching  suppli- 
cation for  Divine  guidance.  The  perfect  natural- 
ness of  his  prayer  life  is  manifested  repeatedly  in 
his  daily  record  of  his  work  in  the  early  years,  where 
his  handwriting  frequently  links  a  fervent  prayer 
to  the  narrative  of  the  day.  On  October  27,  1880, 
he  writes: 

Conferred  regarding  feasibility  of  raising  money  for 
a  building  and  general  secretary.  0  God,  guide  in  all 
this  effort,  honor  Thy  name,  open  the  hearts  of  men. 

Again  a  few  weeks  later,  his  daily  comment  shows 
much  cause  for  discouragement,  but  also  reveals 
an  abiding  faith  in  prayer,  which  enabled  him  in 
those  early  pioneer  days  to  "carry  on"  in  many 

78 


A  MAN  OF  PRAYER 79 

situations  which  at  first  seemed  desperately  hope- 
less: 

Put  in  forenoon  with  committee  on  soliciting  funds 
for  the  building.  They  drew  up  a  paper  but  no  one 
signed  it  and  they  seem  to  be  losing  their  courage. 

Then  he  adds: 

I  am  beseeching  of  the  Lord  His  blessing.  Our  help 
is  in  Him  and  not  in  man.  0  Lord,  touch  the  hearts 
of  men. 

The  very  foundations  of  the  structure  he  was  build- 
ing were  laid  in  prayer.  So  also  in  his  personal  and 
home  life. 

It  is  the  testimony  of  Mrs.  Brown  that  his  prayers 
were  a  chief  influence  in  their  ideally  happy  home 
life.  Their  united  lives  began  in  prayer  and  blended 
beautifully  under  its  constant  influence,  for  she 
tells  of  how  on  that  notable  evening  in  which  a  long 
friendship  culminated  in  expression  of  mutual  love 
and  betrothal,  and  as  the  good  night  was  to  be  said, 
it  was  his  suggestion  that  they  kneel  together  in  a 
joint  prayer  of  thanksgiving  and  petition.  It  was 
his  nature  so  to  do,  and  together,  throughout  the 
weeks  and  months  of  courtship  and  throughout 
thirty-five  years  of  companionship  as  husband  and 
wife,  the  spirit  of  prayerfulness  and  of  dependence 
upon  prayer,  found  continued  and  constant  ex- 
pression. 


80        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

Regularity  was  an  outstanding  characteristic  of 
his  devotional  life,  for  he  scarcely  ever  varied  from 
his  stated  times  of  prayer.  To  a  greater  degree  than 
most  men,  even  the  most  earnest,  spiritually  minded 
type,  he  regularly  maintained  family  prayer  and 
worship,  regarding  it  as  vital  to  his  own  spiritual 
life  and  to  the  religious  development  of  his  family. 
To  him  it  was  a  sacred  privilege,  maintained  with- 
out interruption  through  thirty-six  years,  and  even 
through  the  last  weeks  of  his  life  when  pain  and 
severe  illness  would  have  seemed  reasons  for 
omitting. 

But  not  only  in  the  bosom  of  his  family,  but  also 
in  the  pressure  of  daily  duties,  did  his  prayer  life 
express  itself  in  strength  and  purpose.  To  him, 
prayer  was  a  method  of  work  and  he  made  it  his 
principal  method.  Through  many  years  when  the 
day's  work  was  begun  in  his  office,  it  was  his  joy 
to  assemble  his  associates,  consider  a  verse  or  two  of 
Scripture,  and  in  earnest  prayer  lay  the  day's  work 
and  its  needs  before  God.  Occasionally,  when 
opportunity  afforded,  the  close  of  the  day  found  him 
kneeling  with  others  for  a  brief  word  of  thanks- 
giving or  supplication.  In  the  monthly  conferences 
with  his  staff,  no  matter  how  pressing  the  business, 
nor  how  complex  the  problems  awaiting  consider- 
ation, always  the  first  hour  was  devoted  to  a  period 
of  searching  the  scriptures,  and  an  unhurried  season 
of  prayer.  In  Association  Conventions,  he  was  fre- 
quently called  upon  to  lead  in  prayer,  and  always, 


A  MAN  OF  PRAYER  81 

in  such  instances,  the  wonderful  effect  of  his  prayers 
in  creating  an  atmosphere  of  communion  with  God 
was  most  apparent.  In  the  annual  conferences  of 
the  secretaries  of  Illinois,  he  was  usually  called 
upon  to  offer  the  closing  prayer  and  many  times 
he  mentioned  individually  by  name  every  Secretary 
in  the  State,  fifty,  sixty  or  more  men,  omitting  not  a 
one,  offering  a  concise  petition  relating  to  the  special 
burdens  or  problems  in  each  field.  Always  his 
prayers  were  timely  in  relation  to  both  regular  and 
special  experiences,  needs,  and  responsibilities  of  the 
day,  in  family,  church  or  daily  work;  always  they 
were  purposeful,  never  routine  nor  formal.  Petition 
was  always  an  important  element  in  his  praying,  for 
no  one  ever  asked  more  definitely  and  specifically 
for  the  actual  needs  of  the  daily  life  than  did  he;  but 
his  prayers  were  more  of  communion  than  of  mere 
petition — they  were  the  expression  of  his  inner  life, 
his  close  companionship  with  his  Heavenly  Father. 
To  him  prayer  was  "a  vital  transaction"  as  ex- 
pressed by  Dr.  Fosdick,  "not  simply  a  pious  habit  or 
an  inherited  bit  of  propriety."  Brevity,  directness, 
clearness,  and  a  beauty  of  diction  characterized  his 
every  audible  prayer,  and  these  added  to  their  depth, 
sincerity  and  earnestness,  united,  all  unconsciously, 
to  make  an  appeal  of  truest  eloquence.  At  the  Inter- 
national Convention  in  Indianapolis  in  1893,  he 
arrived  after  the  evening  session  had  begun,  having 
been  detained  by  the  death  of  his  little  son.  The 
presiding  officer  did  not  know  of  the  circumstances 


82        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

which  had  detained  him  from  the  earlier  sessions, 
and  suddenly,  soon  after  Mr.  Brown  entered  the 
room,  he  was  asked  to  lead  in  prayer  for  a  fellow 
State  Secretary  who  had  been  summoned  home 
an  hour  before  owing  to  serious  illness  in  his  family. 
In  this  rather  trying  situation,  Mr.  Brown,  heavy 
in  heart  but  not  in  spirit,  responded  with  a  petition 
so  direct,  so  sympathetic,  so  appealing,  so  assur- 
ing, and  so  beautiful  in  expression  as  to  be  nothing 
short  of  the  truest  eloquence,  and  many  of  the 
strong  men  in  the  great  audience  were  moved  to 
tears. 

Thus,  through  years  of  incessant  toil,  of  constant 
travel,  of  multiplying  burdens  and  increasing  re- 
sponsibility; years  of  deep  anxiety,  of  illness,  of 
deaths  in  his  family ;  years  which  taxed  his  physical 
endurance,  and  his  mental  energies;  and  even  when 
health  gave  way  under  the  strain,  he  lived  by 
prayer,  and  his  whole  life  constantly  reflected  its 
hidden  but  sustaining  power.  Every  crisis  or 
emergency  in  his  work,  whether  of  major  or  minor 
importance,  was  characterized  by  periods  of  earnest 
supplication  for  Divine  direction.  It  should  be 
noted,  too,  that  his  exceptionally  strong  faith  in  the 
efficacy  of  prayer  never  approached  even  remotely 
any  spirit  of  fanaticism  and  never  lost  balance  or 
poise,  for  invariably  his  faith  and  his  earnest  peti- 
tions were  followed  by  energetic  and  systematic 
efforts  to  bring  about  the  ends  for  which  he  prayed. 
And  so,  year  after  year,  in  home,  office,  or  church, 


A  MAN  OF  PRAYER  83 

in  convention  halls,  in  his  tent  or  on  the  hillside  at 
Lake  Geneva,  on  trains,  often  in  large  assemblages, 
more  frequently  with  individuals,  fellow  workers  or 
friends  seeking  his  counsel,  he  kept  his  own  heart 
close  to  the  eternal  springs  and  led  others  to  wonder- 
ful experiences  in  fellowship  with  the  Infinite, 
through  his  life  of  intercessory  prayer.  His  whole 
life  was  a  continuing  prayer,  and  it  ended  in  prayer. 
For,  as  it  neared  its  close,  he,  realizing  that  the  time 
of  his  departure  for  the  shores  eternal  was  near 
at  hand,  called  together  the  members  of  his  family 
and  spoke  his  last  tender  words  of  affectionate  fare- 
well, and  poured  out  his  soul  to  God  in  his  last 
audible  prayer,  one  of  intercession,  asking  God  to 
care  for  and  bless  the  little  group  which  he  had  tried 
to  shield,  and  to  continue  His  blessing  upon  the 
world-wide  work  in  which  he  had  spent  his  life. 
Soon  after  his  tired  heart  ceased  to  beat.  He  had 
fought  a  good  fight,  he  had  kept  the  faith,  and  the 
crown  of  righteousness  laid  up  for  him  passed  into 
his  eternal  possession. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

His  Regard  for  the  Sabbath 

His  appreciation  of  the  Sabbath  Day  as  a  time 
for  rest,  worship,  and  service  was  far  deeper  than 
that  of  most  men.  Few,  even  of  the  strongest  lead- 
ers in  Christian  thought  and  service,  adopted  as 
strict  rules  in  reference  to  it  as  he  did  for  him- 
self. His  work  as  State  Secretary  compelled  al- 
most constant  travel  and  special  work  on  Sundays, 
but  it  was  his  invariable  custom,  lived  up  to  quietly 
but  firmly  through  his  entire  life,  not  to  make 
appointments  which  involved  Sunday  travel.  His 
attitude  in  this  regard  seemed  to  some  to  be  almost 
extreme  or  Puritanical.  But  his  convictions  were 
strong  and  he  succeeded  in  living  up  to  them.  He 
advised  his  associates  to  work  on  this  plan,  but  never 
dictated  or  sought  to  coerce,  leaving  it  to  each  man 
to  form  his  own  decisions.  He  often  walked  con- 
siderable distances  on  a  Sunday  afternoon  or  eve- 
ning to  speak  at  a  meeting,  or  rode  his  bicycle, 
or  accepted  the  kindness  of  a  friend  to  drive  him, 
but  never  accepted  an  appointment  which,  in  fill- 
ing, he  would  compel  others  to  labor  on  Sunday. 
And  because  of  his  loyalty  to  this  principle,  he 
was  willing  to  undergo  inconvenience  to  himself, 

84 


HIS  REGARD  FOR  THE  SABBATH  85 

his  family,  his  friends,  and  his  work.  He  never 
mapped  out  a  route  requiring  Sunday  travel.  A 
neighboring  State  Secretary,  earnestly  urging  his 
presence  at  his  State  Convention,  sent  him  a  time 
schedule  showing  how  quickly  he  could  be  back 
home  by  leaving  on  the  11:45  Sunday  night.  His 
reply  was,  "Your  11:45  train  leaves  just  fifteen 
minutes  too  early  for  me."  He  accepted  the  ap- 
pointment, rendered  a  valuable  service  to  the  Con- 
vention and  was  considerably  later  in  reaching 
home  because  of  not  being  willing  to  use  the  fifteen 
minutes  of  Sunday  in  travel.  Exceptionally  strict 
with  himself  though  he  was,  he  never  criticized 
others  who  did  not  see  the  question  as  he  did.  Nor 
did  his  strictness  reach  any  point  of  bigotry  or 
fanaticism,  for  when  emergencies  compelled  a 
temporary  waiving  of  his  fixed  rule,  he  cheerfully 
adjusted  his  actions  to  the  circumstances.  Such  in- 
stances, though,  were  exceedingly  few.  When  he 
was  a  guest  in  a  home  where  his  host  used  the 
cars  on  Sunday,  he  waived  his  usual  rule  in  courtesy 
to  his  host.  For  years  the  telephone  in  his  resi- 
dence remained  unused  and  unanswered  on  the  Sab- 
bath. For  him  most  Sundays  were  filled  with 
abundant  labors.  Most  remarkable  was  his  insist- 
ence for  himself  and  associates  whose  Sunday  duties 
prevented  rest,  that  one  day  in  seven  should  be 
used  for  rest,  with  freedom  from  ordinary  tasks, 
and  seldom  were  the  instances  when  this  practice 
was  departed  from.    At  times  it  was  the  wonder  of 


86        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

his  friends  how  he  could,  with  many  pressing  prob- 
lems and  burdens,  deliberately  absent  himself  for 
a  day  in  midweek.  But  he  did,  and  thus  added  to 
his  power  and  efficiency  and  lengthened  the  years 
of  his  service.  These  rest  days  were  never  spent  in 
idleness,  for  while  real  physical  relaxation  and 
genial  companionship  with  his  family  and  friends 
characterized  them,  they  were  days  of  mental  and 
spiritual  culture,  of  quiet  study,  of  heart  searchings, 
of  earnest  prayer  and  of  strengthening  of  his  great 
life  purposes.  He  could  work  with  energy  and 
enthusiasm,  but  he  was  wise  enough  and  strong 
willed  enough  not  to  work  incessantly.  If  he  laid 
down  his  burdens  for  a  day  each  week,  it  was  only 
that  he  might  take  them  up  again  the  next  day 
with  renewed  vigor,  greater  energy  and  increased 
consecration.  In  discussing  the  question  with  fellow 
workers  he  frequently  said,  "It  is  a  sin  not  to." 
In  his  early  years  of  service,  pressure  of  the  work 
permitted  but  scant  summer  vacations,  resulting  in 
a  serious  breakdown  in  health.  Recovering,  he 
thereafter  always  insisted  that  the  best  interests 
of  the  work  he  loved  so  well  required  that  he  and 
all  his  helpers  should  have  each  year  an  adequate 
period  of  uninterrupted  rest  and  freedom  from  reg- 
ular duties.  It  is  probable  that  in  his  altogether 
exceptional  and  continuously  consistent  practice  of 
the  weekly  day  of  rest  and  the  annual  vacation, 
we  see  one  reason  for  the  wondrous  mental  energy, 


HIS  REGARD  FOR  THE  SABBATH  87 

the  exceptional  physical  endurance,  and  the  great 
vigor  of  spirit  so  characteristic  of  his  entire  life. 

A    MAN    OF    SENTIMENT 

All  through  his  life  were  evidences  of  the  strong- 
est feelings  of  sentiment,  but  with  an  entire  ab- 
sence of  sentimentality.  His  love  for  his  parents 
was  particularly  strong  and  tender.  His  reverence 
for  his  forefathers  and  his  interest  in  their  achieve- 
ments were  most  marked.  His  affection  for  his 
immediate  family  circle  was  most  notable  in  its 
depth  and  strength.  All  personal,  family,  and  As- 
sociation anniversaries  were  of  great  interest  to  him 
and  were  almost  always  remembered  and  in  some 
way  observed.  Every  article  of  furniture  about  the 
home,  every  book,  heirloom,  every  gift  was  prized 
for  its  associations.  He  was  a  lover  of  music,  sang 
in  the  church  choirs  in  early  years,  and  always 
encouraged  it  in  his  home.  He  regarded  music  as 
the  language  of  the  emotions,  even  as  speech  is 
the  language  of  the  intellect.  He  usually  had  sing- 
ing as  a  feature  of  family  worship.  He  aimed  to 
hear,  and  to  have  his  family  hear,  the  best  musical 
artists.  He  encouraged  his  students  to  appreciate 
music  as  a  vital  element  in  worship  and  as  a  real 
source  of  soul  culture. 

All  historical  places  were  of  intense  interest  and 
any  spot  where  great  deeds  had  been  done  was 
always  more  than  mere  earth  to  him.     His  love 


88        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

of  country  was  very  strong  and  his  sense  of  civic 
duty  was  keen.  It  was  one  of  the  sorrows  of  his 
life  that  his  sons  were  both  taken  in  early  child- 
hood, for  it  would  have  been  a  joy  and  a  deep 
satisfaction  to  have  seen  the  Brown  family  name 
perpetuated  through  his  line. 

He  always  took  particular  pleasure  in  participat- 
ing in  the  very  beginning  of  any  new  work,  or  the 
starting  of  any  new  plans,  or  in  noting  the  anni- 
versary of  any  important  event.  On  June  6,  1894, 
which  was  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  founding 
of  the  first  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  by 
Sir  George  Williams  in  London,  England,  he  was 
in  London  in  attendance  at  the  Association  Jubilee 
Conference.  On  that  day,  he  sought  out  the  small 
upper  room  where  the  little  group  of  half  a  cen- 
tury preceding  had  made  their  historic  beginning, 
there  to  spend,  alone,  a  few  moments  in  medita- 
tion and  prayer  and  rededication  of  his  life  to  the 
great  movement  which  he  had  made  his  life  work. 
To  him  the  spot  was  sacred  and  the  anniversary 
significant;  they  brought  to  him  a  permanent  addi- 
tion to  his  mental  and  spiritual  equipment  for  his 
life  task. 

His  wealth  of  intellect,  his  capacity  to  think, 
to  plan,  to  absorb  and  to  give  out,  his  constant  ap- 
preciation of  the  higher  and  finer  feelings  in  mind 
and  heart,  all  made  life  most  interesting  and  beau- 
tiful to  him.  With  the  poet,  he  was  a  part  of  all 
that  he  had  met.    And  all  his  wealth  of  sentiment, 


HIS  REGARD  FOR  THE  SABBATH  89 

his  affectionate  nature,  his  inherent  love  of  the 
strong  and  the  beautiful,  found  a  constant,  enduring 
climax  in  his  personal  devotion  to  the  crucified, 
risen,  ever-present  Christ. 

FARSIGHTED  AND  FOREHANDED 

A  notable  characteristic  of  his  entire  life  and  es- 
pecially his  Association  service  was  his  farsighted- 
ness. Invariably  his  plans  looked  far  into  the  fu- 
ture. This  was  manifested  in  his  advice  to  every 
Association  and  community  he  visited,  and  his  let- 
ters, consultations,  and  addresses  always  counselled 
in  this  direction.  In  forming  organizations,  in  plan- 
ning campaigns  and  programs  of  work,  in  directing 
the  arrangement  of  Association  buildings,  he  al- 
ways had  the  long  look  ahead.  He  was  always  ahead 
of  his  work.  His  public  addresses  and  papers  were 
unusually  carefully  prepared  considerably  in  ad- 
vance of  the  time  of  their  presentation  and  were 
invariably  thoughtfully  arranged  and  systematically 
outlined. 

Similarly  in  his  personal  and  family  affairs,  even 
from  earliest  years  he  planned  far  into  the  future. 
Always  a  generous  and  systematic  giver  to  many 
branches  of  Christian  work,  he  was  constant  in  his 
practice  of  thrift,  saving  systematically  and  in- 
vesting wisely.  Early  in  life  he  purchased,  and  by 
systematic  payments  through  many  years,  acquired 
clear  title  to  a  valuable  residence,  residing  there 


90        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

throughout  his  life.  But  also,  he  bought  land  and 
built  upon  it,  a  few  blocks  away,  a  comfortable 
cottage,  intending  to  live  there  in  retirement  after 
his  years  of  active  service  were  over,  renting  his 
larger  property. 

Several  years  before  his  death,  after  a  serious 
illness,  which  caused  him  to  fear  that  his  tenure 
of  life  might  be  short,  he  sought  out  a  friend  at 
his  business  office,  stated  his  fears  to  him  and  asked 
the  friend  if  he  would,  after  his  summons  came, 
be  the  business  advisor  of  his  wife,  commending 
her  to  the  kindly  and  sympathetic  attention  which 
he  felt  she  would  need;  an  evidence  of  his  desire 
to  cheer  her  path  and  lighten  her  burdens  during 
her  time  of  loneliness — an  exceptionally  thought- 
ful preparation  and  one  which  too  many  men 
neglect. 

In  his  work  and  in  his  industrious  life,  almost 
no  duty,  emergency,  or  crisis  ever  arose  for  which 
his  trait  of  looking  and  planning  ahead  did  not 
find  him  well  prepared. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

As  a  Public  Speaker 

In  his  chosen  field  of  service,  public  speaking 
was  an  important  feature,  and  a  frequent  duty. 
His  training  for  it  began  in  his  earliest  school  days, 
when  he  was  frequently  called  upon  for  essays  and 
declamations  in  his  country  school.  During  his 
years  at  the  Normal  School  he  served  as  presi- 
dent of  the  Philadelphian  Society,  a  leading  student 
organization,  participating  in  debates  and  oratorical 
contests  with  high  honors.  His  gifts  in  this  direc- 
tion were  utilized  during  his  years  as  a  school  prin- 
cipal, speaking  at  church  services,  gospel  meetings, 
jail  meetings  and  similar  gatherings. 

Strangely  enough,  he  had  a  natural  shrinking 
from  public  speaking  and  did  not  like  it.  In  taking 
up  the  state  work,  however,  he  deliberately  schooled 
himself  to  overcome  this  dislike,  and  in  this  effort 
succeeded  remarkably  well,  for  he  became  one  of 
the  most  forceful  and  effective  speakers  of  the  en- 
tire Association  movement.  His  addresses  were 
eagerly  sought  for  all  over  the  state  and  soon  he 
was  in  active  demand  as  a  speaker  at  Association 
conventions  throughout  the  country.  He  could  ac- 
cept but  a  limited  number  of  these,  but  always 

91 


92        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

aimed  to  respond  to  one  or  two  each  year.  He 
always  made  studious,  thorough  preparations  for 
every  address,  having  it  in  concise  outline  form. 
Necessarily  many  of  his  addresses  were  prepared 
and  delivered  on  very  short  notice  but  even  under 
these  circumstances,  they  always  demonstrated  the 
careful  logical  thinking  of  an  orderly,  well-disci- 
plined mind,  a  purposeful  life,  and  the  highest  ideals 
in  individual  and  organization  usefulness. 

As  a  speaker  at  conventions,  he  presented  care- 
fully thought-out  studies  of  every  phase  of  Asso- 
ciation work,  always  with  the  highest  idealism,  a 
broad  vision,  a  spiritual  appeal,  and  a  profound 
conviction  of  the  usefulness  of  the  Association  in 
the  particular  phases  of  work  he  was  presenting. 
His  masterful  summing  up  of  discussions  and  de- 
bates in  conventions  showed  rare  genius  and  in- 
tellectual strength. 

His  concise  summaries  of  essential  facts,  under 
points  one,  two,  three,  four,  and  five  became  pro- 
verbial among  the  secretaries  of  the  country,  many 
referring  to  him  good  naturedly  as  "five-point 
Brown." 

As  a  speaker  at  church  services,  anniversary  occa- 
sions, and  other  celebrations  and  events,  he  was 
exceptionally  impressive,  presenting  his  facts,  argu- 
ments and  illustrations  in  clear,  concise,  convincing 
manner,  always  under  definite  headings  and  in  man- 
ner which  appealed  equally  to  the  reason  and  the 
feelings  of  his  hearers.    His  addresses  at  evangelistic 


AS  A  PUBLIC  SPEAKER  93 

meetings  were  warm-hearted  logical  appeals  to 
young  men  to  accept  the  leadership  of  Christ  and 
to  honor  and  serve  Him  in  every  relationship  in 
life.  His  Bible  talks  showed  a  wide  reading  and 
a  thorough  study  of  the  Scriptures  and  invariably 
presented  to  the  audience  the  highest  ideals  of  true 
and  useful  Christian  living. 

Always  direct,  simple,  and  clear,  his  addresses 
frequently  contained  sentences  of  real  eloquence 
and  descriptions  most  impressive  in  their  beauty 
and  strength.  "Whatever  he  said  on  all  occasions 
was  always  well  considered,  particularly  appropriate, 
correctly  and  compactly  expressed,"  said  Robert 
Weidensall. 

He  realized  the  forcefulness  of  brevity  as  but 
few  speakers  do;  it  was  frequently  said  of  him, 
"Why  did  he  stop?"  but  never,  "Why  does'nt  he 
stop?"  Many  times  he  closed  his  address  when 
the  entire  audience  desired  him  to  continue  longer. 
Particularly  was  this  illustrated  at  a  large  union 
mass  meeting  in  his  home  church  in  Oak  Park, 
called  in  the  interest  of  a  new  Association  building. 
There  were  six  of  seven  speakers  on  the  program, 
each  limited  to  five  minutes.  Mr.  Brown  was  the 
last  one  and  in  introducing  him  the  chairman 
said  that  by  unanimous  consent  and  desire  he  would 
remove  any  time  limit  in  his  case,  requesting  him 
to  occupy  much  longer  time.  Mr.  Brown  smiled, 
made  no  reference  to  the  request,  proceeded  im- 
mediately in  a  well-rounded,  magnetic  presentation 


94        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

of  the  possibilities  of  the  proposed  new  building 
and  an  appeal  for  its  erection  which  fairly  electri- 
fied the  large  audience,  resuming  his  seat  in  four 
minutes  and  forty  seconds,  with  every  one  wishing 
he  had  spoken  longer.  At  the  close  of  his  talk,  a 
leading  business  man,  general  manager  of  Chicago's 
largest  mercantile  house,  leaned  over  to  the  writer 
and  said,  "Mr.  Brown  always  hits  the  nail  on  the 
head."  To  be  able  to  stop  when  the  audience 
wishes  he  would  go  on,  is  a  fine  test  of  a  speaker's 
success;  and  in  this  rare  art,  few,  if  any,  excelled 
Mr.  Brown.  The  public  speaking  of  this  master 
workman  in  the  Kingdom,  greatly  enhanced  his  in- 
fluence and  his  usefulness,  for  he  consecrated  his 
talent  to  the  highest  purposes. 

Two  years  before  his  death,  he  was  invited  to 
deliver  the  address  at  the  unveiling  of  a  memorial 
tablet  to  his  great  grandfather,  the  Rev.  Isaac  Eddy, 
in  the  Congregational  Church  at  Jamestown,  N.  Y. 
This  address  was  notable  in  its  fine  tribute  to  his 
ancestor,  its  scholarly  research,  its  analytical  and 
descriptive  powers,  and  in  the  earnestness  of  the 
climax — an  appeal  for  the  highest  spiritual  life  and 
earnest  service,  as  follows: 

In  this  presence  may  we  not  call  upon  each  other  to 
solemnly  and  fully  dedicate  our  lives  to  the  same  cause 
for  which  Isaac  Eddy  laid  down  his  own.  Shall  not 
we,  his  sons  and  daughters  to  the  fourth  and  fifth  gen- 
eration, honor  his  memory  by  the  gift  of  life,  and  on 


AS  A  PUBLIC  SPEAKER  95 

the  fleshly  tables  of  our  hearts  write  our  three-fold  task. 

First:  to  catch  the  vision  of  the  Christ  and  be  loyal 
and  true  to  Him. 

Second:  to  give  self-sacrificing  service  to  His  Church, 
following  the  example  of  this  father  of  ours. 

Third:  to  cherish  the  sweetness  of  life,  the  warmth 
of  heart,  the  tenderness  and  sympathy  which  were  so 
marked  in  him.  By  so  doing  we  shall  consecrate  today 
a  memorial  more  precious  than  bronze  or  marble  and 
more  enduring  as  well. 

And  so,  as  a  little  child  of  the  fifth  generation  of 
descendants  unveiled  the  memorial,  it  was  with  this 
ringing  appeal  to  the  hearts  of  the  public,  closing 
as  did  practically  all  of  his  public  addresses,  with 
a  clarion  call  to  better  living  and  greater  service. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Fondness  for  and  Participation  in  Athletics 

A  real  liking  for  games  manifested  itself  in  early 
boyhood. 

Baseball. — As  a  lad  in  his  early  teens  he  played 
baseball  with  typical  boyish  enthusiasm,  as  is  evi- 
denced by  his  lifelong  friend,  Dr.  William  E.  Barton 
of  Oak  Park,  who  recalls  the  exceptional  energy 
with  which  he  circled  the  bases  and  the  pride  with 
which  he  shouted  to  the  scorekeeper,  "Brown,  tally," 
upon  reaching  the  home  plate  safely.  His  oppor- 
tunities for  play  were,  even  in  these  early  years, 
limited  because  of  the  necessity  of  being  at  work. 
Fascinating  though  the  game  was  to  him,  he,  time 
and  time  again,  left  his  companions  at  their  play, 
while  he  sought  and  performed  all  sorts  of  odd 
pieces  of  work  to  help  his  parents.  During  his 
years  in  the  Normal  School,  his  time  seems  to  have 
been  so  fully  absorbed  by  intensive  study,  and  by 
the  labors  incident  to  earning  his  own  way,  as  to 
leave  almost  no  opportunity  for  the  active  partici- 
pation in  athletics,  which  is  so  characteristic  of  col- 
lege life.  But  neither  then  nor  in  the  busy  years 
of  his  later  life  did  he  ever  lose  his  interest  in  or 
liking  for  the  great  national  game.    Usually  several 

96 


FONDNESS  FOR  ATHLETICS  97 

times  each  year,  he  found  delight  and  recreation  in 
taking  an  afternoon  off,  and  with  some  friend  or 
fellow-secretary,  witnessing  a  major-league  game. 
He  knew  the  leading  players,  their  records,  and  chief 
characteristics;  he  was  familiar  with  the  fine  points 
of  the  game  and  could  converse  intelligently  with 
the  most  ardent  baseball  enthusiast.  The  writer  re- 
calls having  witnessed  an  exceptionally  interesting 
triple  play,  made,  almost  unassisted,  by  Johnny 
Evers  of  the  Chicago  Nationals,  who,  finding  he 
could  not  successfully  complete  the  play  alone  as 
first  attempted,  finally  threw  speedily  to  the  third 
baseman  for  the  third  put-out.  In  relating  this 
incident  of  the  diamond  to  him,  he  immediately 
asked,  "Was  the  third  baseman  Steinfeldt?"  sur- 
prising even  his  close  associate  by  his  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  game  and  its  players. 

Football — His  athletic  interest  included  football, 
and  in  days  when  it  was  less  popular  than  now. 
He  aimed  to  witness  one  or  more  of  the  leading 
college  games  every  season  and  he  surprised  many 
a  college  man  who  visited  his  home,  by  his  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  teams  and  their  relative  strength. 

Bicycling. — During  the  period  of  great  popularity 
of  the  bicycle,  he  purchased  one  and  used  it  for 
pleasure,  for  exercise,  and  for  practical  purposes  as 
a  mean  of  transportation.  His  pleasure  in  it  did 
not  cease  when  the  general  popularity  receded,  for 
he  used  it  constantly  for  twenty-five  years,  realiz- 
ing that  the  open-air  exercise  enhanced  his  health, 


98        THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

bringing  benefit  as  well  as  pleasure  and  convenience. 

The  early  years  of  his  Association  service,  with 
their  increasing  burden  of  responsibility  and  the 
demands  upon  his  time  caused  by  constant  travel, 
afforded  him  no  opportunity  for  active  personal 
participation  in  athletic  exercises.  The  result  of 
this  overtaxing  his  strength,  or  rather,  of  failing  to 
maintain  a  sufficient  balance  between  work  and 
play,  was  a  nervous  breakdown  which  kept  him 
from  his  labors  for  several  months.  Following  his 
recovery,  he  made  a  decided  readjustment  in  his 
mode  of  life  and  began  deliberately  a  program  of 
diversified,  recreational  physical  exercise,  not  in 
watching  others  play,  greatly  though  he  enjoyed 
that,  but  in  actually  playing  himself. 

Swimming. — He  at  once  took  up  swimming,  re- 
ceiving instruction  in  the  art  at  Lake  Geneva. 
Quickly  he  attained  far  more  than  ordinary  profi- 
ciency in  it,  and  in  the  summer  of  1890  swam  across 
Lake  Geneva,  a  distance  of  two  miles,  accompanied, 
of  course,  by  friends  in  a  boat  for  safety  in  the 
event  of  emergency.  A  characteristic  action  of  his 
in  making  this  water  journey,  certainly  a  test  to 
the  physique  of  a  new  swimmer,  was  that  while  in 
midlake  upon  being  seized  with  cramps  in  one 
limb,  instead  of  giving  up  as  many  would  have 
done,  he  deliberately  massaged  away  the  cramps, 
continuing  his  swim  successfully  to  his  destination. 
Thereafter,  for  nearly  thirty  years  more  of  summer 


FONDNESS  FOR  ATHLETICS  99 

periods  at  Lake  Geneva,  swimming  was  a  part  of 
his  daily  program. 

Tennis. — His  enjoyment  of  games  and  his  partici- 
pation in  athletic  exercises  found  their  best  ex- 
pression in  his  great  liking  for  the  fascinating  game 
of  tennis.  Learning  to  play  at  Lake  Geneva,  it  be- 
came his  favorite  recreation  and  exercise.  Al- 
though not  beginning  the  game  until  after  the  age 
when  most  players  quit,  and  when  some  physicians 
think  they  should  quit,  he  played  throughout  the 
succeeding  twenty-eight  summers.  And  he  was  a 
good  player,  too,  as  all  who  played  with  him  in 
tournament  or  friendly  contest  can  testify.  He 
played  with  energy,  enthusiasm,  and  a  determina- 
tion to  win.  He  worked  hard  for  every  point.  Upon 
making  a  poor  stroke,  the  emphatic  manner  in  which 
he  would  express  self-indignation,  as  his  expres- 
sion "nonsense"  rang  out  over  the  courts,  was  a 
matter  of  familiar  comment  among  his  tennis 
friends.  He  played  with  the  vim  and  enthusiasm 
of  men  thirty  years  younger.  He  was  a  good  loser, 
finding  intense  pleasure  and  satisfaction  in  the  ex- 
ercise and  recreation  of  the  game,  pleased  if  he 
won,  happy  to  have  tried  hard  if  he  met  defeat. 
It  was  in  the  playing  and  the  trying,  rather  than 
in  the  outcome  that  he  found  such  keen  delight. 
He  often  said,  "It's  just  as  good  exercise  when  you 
lose,  and  almost  as  much  fun." 

He  was  past  sixty  before  expressing  any  prefer- 
ence for  doubles  over  singles,  but  even  up  to  his 


100      THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

last  year,  at  sixty-eight,  if  partners  were  not  avail- 
able for  doubles,  he  played  singles  with  his  ac- 
customed interest  and  zest,  the  writer  playing  with 
him  late  in  the  fall  of  his  last  year. 

Golf. — He  felt  an  interest  in  golf,  to  the  extent 
of  buying  sticks  and  joining  a  club,  but  he  played 
golf  but  little,  owing  to  his  strong  preference  for 
tennis.  He  liked  more  vigorous  exercise  and  more 
competitive  play  than  golf  supplies,  finding  a  thrill 
in  surprising  his  opponent,  and  a  satisfaction  in 
overcoming  his  opponent's  plans  and  strokes,  such 
as  the  golfer  has  no  opportunity  to  experience.  It 
was  a  greater  pleasure  to  him  to  go  for  a  ball  in 
motion,  and  to  be  moving  in  the  effort,  than  to 
stand  still  and  strike  a  ball  lying  still.  To  his  ac- 
tivity in  playing  tennis  he  attributed  in  large  part 
the  greatly  improved  health  conditions  during  the 
last  twenty-five  years  of  his  life. 

Pentathlon. — It  should  be  noted  that  his  interest 
in  all-round  athletics  led  to  his  suggesting  to  Dr. 
Luther  Gulick  the  reviving  of  the  ancient  Grecian 
Pentathlon,  or  "five  events,"  which  was  soon  there- 
after introduced  into  the  athletic  contests  in  the 
Associations  throughout  the  country. 

And  so,  while  up  until  his  fortieth  birthday,  he 
had,  according  to  his  own  statement,  "never  been 
astride  a  wheel,  swung  a  racquet,  or  swum  a  stroke," 
he  took  up  the  recreational  type  of  exercise  and 
pleasure  which  these  articles  and  acts  typify,  and 


FONDNESS  FOR  ATHLETICS  101 

thereby  brought  to  body,  mind,  and  spirit  an  in- 
crease in  happiness,  health,  strength,  and  efficiency. 
Truly  his  exercise  added  not  only  years  to  his  life, 
but  life  to  his  years. 


CHAPTER  XX 

A  Man  of  System 

He  was  exceptionally  methodical  and  systematic 
in  all  his  public  and  private  activities.  From  his 
eleventh  birthday  he  kept  a  daily  record  of  each 
day's  work  and  of  how  his  time  was  spent.  The 
use  of  his  time  and  the  performance  of  his  duties 
were  planned  for  with  system,  regularity,  orderli- 
ness, and  precision.  The  details  of  his  home  life 
and  personal  affairs,  his  studies  and  reading,  his 
recreations  and  pleasures,  as  well  as  the  important 
concerns  of  his  official  position,  were  planned  for 
usually  long  in  advance.  Each  day's  work  was 
mapped  out  ahead,  the  men  to  see,  the  tasks  to  be 
accomplished  were  listed  and  checked  off  one  by 
one  as  rapidly  as  completed.  Every  trip  he  made, 
whether  it  was  to  a  neighboring  park,  or  museum, 
or  to  the  countries  of  Europe,  was  thoroughly  pre- 
pared for  and  the  time  systematically  arranged, 
so  as  to  bring  to  him  and  to  those  with  him  the 
largest  measure  of  information  and  of  permanent 
values. 

He  was  always  exceedingly  careful  in  fulfilling 
all  his  appointments  and  it  was  a  matter  of  pride 
with  him,  that  throughout  his  long  life  of  public 

102 


A  MAN  OF  SYSTEM  103 

work  with  its  multiplied  engagements,  he  was  never 
absent  from  a  place  where  he  was  expected,  unless 
prevented  by  illness  or  delayed  trains,  and  that 
when  so  prevented,  there  never  failed  to  be  a  tele- 
gram explaining  his  unavoidable  absence. 

Daily  he  recorded  and  balanced  his  personal  ex- 
penditures and  annually  he  revised  an  inventory  of 
all  his  assets  and  net  financial  worth.  This  trait 
of  his  character  was  a  factor  in  aiding  him  to  reach 
decisions  the  more  readily  and  quickly;  it  added 
greatly  to  his  efficiency  and  enhanced  his  capacity 
for  accomplishment. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

Student  and  Scholar 

A  marked  characteristic  of  this  leader  of  men 
was  his  mental  energy  and  a  deep-rooted  love  of 
study.  His  was  an  exceptionally  keen,  discerning, 
active  intellect.  Throughout  his  boyhood  days  his 
record  shows  unusual  application  to  his  studies  and 
that  he  studied  because  of  his  love  of  learning.  His 
participation  in  the  village  lyceum,  his  early  work 
as  teacher  in  country  schools,  his  literary  work  in 
college,  his  correspondence,  all  demonstrated  a  mind 
of  strength,  power,  vision  and  purpose.  His  years 
of  middle  age  saw  no  abatement,  for  his  mental 
strength  and  energy  manifested  themselves  in  many 
activities,  an  ever-increasing  appreciation  of  the 
value  of  constant  intellectual  application  and 
achievement.  And  the  later  years  of  full  maturity, 
even  as  he  neared  the  three  score  and  ten,  found 
him  constantly  planning  for  still  greater  accom- 
plishment. Upon  leaving  the  teaching  profession 
for  the  life  of  a  busy  Association  executive,  with 
the  added  burden  of  constant  travel,  it  would  have 
been  easy,  if  not  natural,  for  him  to  have  ceased 
largely,  possibly  entirely,  his  general  studies.  But 
not  so.    During  his  first  year  of  work  he  enrolled 

104 


STUDENT  AND  SCHOLAR  105 

as  a  student  in  the  Chautauqua  Literary  and  Scien- 
tific Circle,  completed  its  four  years  of  study, 
graduated,  and  received  his  diploma,  having  accom- 
plished this  entirely  while  on  railroad  trains.  He 
also  enrolled  as  a  special  non-resident  student  in 
Knox  College,  Galesburg,  111.,  and  under  a  special 
arrangement  with  the  college  authorities,  he  pur- 
sued courses  of  studies,  visiting  the  college  from 
time  to  time  and  taking'  assigned  examinations, 
graduating  in  1892  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Arts.  Continuing  his  studies  further,  he  met  all  re- 
quirements for,  and  was  awarded,  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts.  His  thesis  was  "Thirty  Years  of 
History/'  in  which  he  demonstrated  remarkable  re- 
search work,  and  powers  of  narration,  description, 
and  analysis  such  as  could  rarely  be  equalled  even 
by  one  devoting  all  his  time  to  scholarly  pursuits. 
Here  he  wrote: 

Aside  from  the  thirty  years  during  which  our  Master 
lived  and  wrought,  no  thirty  years  in  the  world's  history 
seem  of  greater  moment  than  the  thirty  years  beginning 
with  the  discovery  of  America. 

After  tracing  concisely  the  great  achievements 
during  these  three  decades,  and  enumerating  the 
great  men  of  the  period  and  their  achievements  in 
art,  sculpture,  architecture,  military,  government 
and  discovery,  he  says: 

But  greater  than  all  these,  greater  than  pictures  upon 
canvas,  or  forms  carved  in  marble,  or  buildings  by  the 


106      THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

skill  of  the  architect,  or  armies  conquered,  or  nations 
swayed  by  the  scepter  of  power,  or  new  continents  dis- 
covered, were  the  mighty  movements  during  this  period 
in  the  religious  world,  movements  touching  the  hearts 
of  men  and  the  eternal  interests  of  individuals  and 
nations. 

Then  he  traces  in  remarkably  concise  and  com- 
prehensive manner  the  service  of  the  religious  lead- 
ers of  the  period;  the  spread  of  Christianity  in 
Western  Europe;  the  world-wide  expansion  of  the 
missionary  spirit;  the  rise  of  Protestantism;  Luther 
and  other  great  reformers  of  that  day;  Calvin,  who 
swayed  the  hearts  of  men  and  left  an  impress  upon 
the  theology  of  the  ages;  John  Knox,  who  cried  out 
in  agony  for  the  souls  of  his  countrymen  "Give  me 
Scotland  or  I  die."  This  thesis  is  a  most  scholarly 
product  and  affords  a  glimpse  of  his  wondrous 
powers  of  description,  analysis,  and  spiritual  dis- 
cernment and  something  of  an  indication  of  the 
great  contribution  he  could  and  would  have  made 
to  religious  literature  had  he  chosen  it  for  his  life 
calling.  Here,  as  in  so  many  other  ways,  he  was 
a  shining  example  to  every  man  busy  in  responsible 
executive  work.  His  life  refutes  the  impression 
that  men  carrying  heavy  burdens  and  multiplied 
duties  in  middle  years  have  no  time  or  opportunity 
for  intellectual  effort  and  achievement.  By  his  men- 
tal energy  and  application,  he  added  joy,  satisfac- 
tion, and  efficiency  to  his  own  life  and  work  and 


STUDENT  AND  SCHOLAR  107 

brought  great  inspiration  and  substantial  encour- 
agement to  hundreds  if  not  thousands  of  those  who 
knew  and  heard  him. 

His  general  reading  was  constant,  widely  diversi- 
fied, and  of  the  choicest  type.  It  was  his  custom 
to  keep  a  list  of  the  books  read  each  year  on  one 
of  the  pages  of  his  diary.  Through  many  years  and 
in  every  year  this  list  shows  a  substantial  number 
of  important  volumes,  in  addition  to  much  technical 
and  special  material.  He  was  always  exceptionally 
well  informed  upon  the  current  events  of  the  day, 
national  and  international  questions,  and  upon  mat- 
ters pertaining  not  only  to  religious  activities  and 
service,  but  also  those  relating  to  science,  literature, 
education,  poetry,  missions,  athletics,  and  all  that 
interests  men.  His  thirst  for  knowledge,  and  his 
desire  for  intellectual  achievement  did  not  abate 
upon  passing  middle  age,  for  he  was  continuously 
energetic  in  this  field,  nothing  but  death  stopping 
his  quest  for  knowledge.  Just  shortly  before  his  last 
illness,  his  diary  shows  a  record  of  an  interview 
with  the  president  of  one  of  the  great  universities 
of  the  state  with  reference  to  plans  for  completing 
a  course  of  study  leading  to  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Philosophy.  In  preparation  for  this,  he  had 
spent  a  number  of  years  in  special  studies,  and  some 
weeks  of  resident  work  in  the  university.  Had 
his  life  been  spared  a  while  longer,  he  would  un- 
doubtedly have  acquired  the  degree  he  was  am- 
bitious to  possess.    Throughout  the  years  he  was  a 


108      THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

most  diligent,  constant  and  systematic  student  of 
the  Scriptures.  As  truly  as  the  Psalmist  of  old 
he  could  exclaim:  "How  I  love  thy  law,  it  is  my 
meditation  all  the  day."  His  affection  for  the  Bible 
was  deep  rooted.  His  methods  of  study  varied,  but 
his  study  was  constant  and  never  spasmodic.  It  was 
his  invariable  custom,  at  home  and  when  traveling, 
to  read  a  few  verses  upon  arising  and  again  upon 
retiring.  He  always  carried  out  the  plan  of  con- 
secutive reading,  no  matter  what  special  Bible 
studies  he  might  be  following.  He  read  at  family 
worship.  He  studied  various  outlines  and  courses 
for  his  own  spiritual  culture  and  enrichment,  in 
addition  to  his  studies  in  preparation  for  teaching 
Bible  classes,  and  for  public  addresses  upon  Bible 
themes.  He  always  had  some  plan  of  study  imme- 
diately ahead.  The  strength  of  his  intellect  went 
into  the  culture  of  his  spiritual  life;  the  two  blended 
most  beautifully  in  his  nature  and  in  the  union 
each  became  stronger.  He  studied  not  only  to 
achieve  knowledge  but  to  serve  more  efficiently. 
He  sanctified  his  intellect  for  the  sake  of  his  fellow 
men,  even  as  the  Christ  sanctified  himself  for  the 
sake  of  his  disciples. 

As  a  Teacher 

He  was  frequently  referred  to  as  a  "born  teacher" 
undoubtedly  because  of  his  forceful  work  in  ad- 
dresses and  in  conferences  and  discussions  in  con- 


STUDENT  AND  SCHOLAR  109 

ventions,  summer  schools,  and  classroom.  In  this 
connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  he  was  one 
of  a  group  of  four  exceptionally  gifted  children,  and 
that  the  life  work  of  each  was  in  the  field  of  educa- 
tion. His  only  brother,  Dr.  Elmer  Ellsworth  Brown, 
took  the  highest  rank  in  educational  circles  through 
service  in  the  universities  of  Michigan  and  of  Cali- 
fornia, as  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education, 
and  by  a  long  service  as  Chancellor  of  New  York 
University.  His  sister,  Mrs.  Lida  McMurry,  be- 
came a  leading  authority  upon  primary-school  prin- 
ciples and  methods  and  an  author  of  exceptionally 
valuable  treatises  upon  child  training.  His  other 
sister,  Mrs.  Lillie  Fairchild,  performed  a  memorable 
life  work  as  the  wife  of  a  college  officer.  Thus, 
all  four  served  in  places  of  large  usefulness  in  the 
field  of  education,  and  it  was  as  a  teacher  of  teach- 
ers, that  the  oldest  of  the  group  utilized  his  rare 
gifts  as  an  educator,  leading  those  who  came  under 
his  influence  out  into  lives  of  greater  knowledge, 
stronger  character,  and  higher  purposes.  Those  who 
studied  under  him  felt  the  magnetism  of  his  per- 
sonality, teaching  them  to  think,  drawing  out  their 
very  best,  stimulating  their  ambitions  and  purposes, 
and  inspiring  them  to  higher  ideals  of  conduct  and 
service.  There  can  be  no  finer  exemplification  of 
the  real  art  of  teaching  than  this.  He,  from  his 
earliest  days  as  a  country  lad  teaching  a  country 
school,  was  never  content  to  be  merely  a  school 
keeper,  a  routine  hearer  and  marker  of  recitations. 


110      THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

He  not  only  imparted  facts  and  information,  but 
did  it  in  a  way  which  created  a  desire  to  learn, 
moulded  character  and  inspired  to  right  conduct  and 
useful  living. 

Throughout  his  years  of  executive  work  in  the 
State  Secretaryship,  these  fine  teaching  qualities 
were  constantly  manifested  in  personal  counsel,  in 
directors'  meetings,  in  conventions,  conferences,  and 
public  addresses.  From  its  founding  in  1890,  he 
taught  certain  courses  in  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  Training  School  (later  renamed 
Association  College).  Here  his  influence  as  a 
teacher  of  Bible  courses,  logic,  philosophy,  Associa- 
tion administration,  and  church  history  was  most 
marked.  Likewise  he  taught  similarly  for  thirty- 
three  consecutive  years  in  the  summer  school  at 
Lake  Geneva,  impressing  the  thousands  of  students 
by  his  rare  intellectual  powers,  his  deep  spiritual 
purposes,  and  his  fine  art  of  imparting  inspiration 
as  well  as  information,  and  of  drawing  out  and  set- 
ting to  work  their  highest  faculties  and  bringing 
to  them  new  visions  of  their  hidden  possibilities. 

ON  THE  TEACHING  STAFF  OF  Y.  M.  C.  A.  COLLEGE 

His  great  gifts  and  high  purposes  as  a  teacher 
found  their  finest  opportunity  for  expression  in  the 
last  eight  years  of  his  life,  spent  in  the  service  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  College,  as 
a  faculty  member  and  administrative  officer.    With 


STUDENT  AND  SCHOLAR  111 

a  freedom  from  the  executive  responsibilities  of  the 
preceding  thirty  years,  he  threw  his  entire  strength, 
his  ripe  experience,  his  mental  and  spiritual  energy, 
into  the  task  of  moulding  the  lives  and  characters 
of  the  hundreds  of  students  who  were  in  preparation 
for  places  of  leadership  in  all  phases  of  Association 
activity  throughout  the  nation  and  in  many  foreign 
lands.  He  taught  the  underlying  principles  of  the 
work  to  which  his  life  had  been  devoted.  Every 
subject  taught  was  most  thoroughly  and  compre- 
hensively studied  and  every  class  session  was  most 
conscientiously  prepared  for,  both  in  mind  and  heart. 
No  minister  ever  prepared  his  sermons  more  care- 
fully and  earnestly  than  he  prepared  for  his  class- 
room hours  with  his  students.  His  high  sense  of 
responsibility  and  opportunity  which  characterized 
him  was  reflected  in  the  lives  of  those  who  studied 
under  him,  it  being  the  invariable  experience  that 
his  students,  both  at  Chicago  and  at  Lake  Geneva, 
testified  in  impressive  manner  as  to  the  great  help- 
fulness to  their  intellectual  and  spiritual  lives  of 
their  contact  with  him  as  teacher.  Some  of  his 
students  were  Chinese  young  men;  his  friendship 
for  them  and  his  interest  in  their  preparation  for 
service  in  their  home  land  led  him  to  donate  his 
entire  collection  of  Association  books  and  litera- 
ture to  the  National  Committee  of  the  Associations 
of  China,  a  gift  they  accepted  with  marked  grati- 
tude and  appreciation,  and  which  they  use  con- 


112      THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

stantly,   naming   it   the   "I.   E.   Brown   Memorial 
Library." 

It  was  his  high  purpose  to  lead  his  students  into 
an  attitude  of  mind  which  compelled  them  to  think, 
and  reason,  and  choose,  and  act,  and  accomplish 
because  of  the  mental  culture  and  discipline  of 
their  studies.  He  was  never  content  to  teach  only 
the  intellect;  he  sought  to  reach  the  heart  and  to 
develop  character  through  every  classroom  hour. 
He  taught  not  merely  facts,  but  ideals,  and  helped 
his  students  to  realize  more  fully  the  opportunities 
for  the  highest  Christian  usefulness  as  leaders  of 
leaders;  he  imparted  not  only  knowledge,  but  in- 
spiration; not  only  history  but  moral  purpose;  he 
created  a  love  for  the  highest  and  best  in  Christian 
thinking  and  serving;  he  made  every  student  a 
stronger  man,  and  a  better-equipped  workman  in 
the  great  harvest  field.  Like  his  Master,  he,  too,  was 
"a  teacher  sent  from  God." 


CHAPTER  XXII 

A  Lover  of  Travel 

His  duties  through  nearly  four  decades  required 
much  travel,  particularly  in  Illinois  and  frequently 
in  other  states  and  provinces.  His  service  in  visita- 
tion of  the  many  states  of  the  union  is  outlined  under 
the  chapter  on  conventions  and  conferences.  In 
the  course  of  official  duties,  he  visited  nearly  every 
state  in  the  union  and  every  province  in  Canada. 
In  accepting  the  limited  number  of  these  outside 
engagements  which  time  permitted,  he  systemati- 
cally gave  preference  to  states  never  previously 
visited,  in  order  that  new  sights,  new  contacts,  ex- 
periences, and  friendships  might  constantly  be 
formed.  And  in  the  cases  of  the  few  states  not 
visited  officially,  he  systematically  planned  educa- 
tional and  pleasure  trips,  so  that  before  he  had 
passed  middle  life,  every  state  in  the  union  had  been 
visited  and  its  chief  historic  spots  studied.  He 
regarded  travel  as  an  opportunity  for  education, 
inspiration,  pleasure,  recreation,  and  a  broadening 
of  vision.  His  time  on  trains  or  steamers  was  al- 
ways systematically  planned  for  and  profitably  and 
beneficially  employed.  With  him  the  journey  itself, 
short  or  long,  was  always  a  part  of  the  destination. 

113 


114      THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

So,  he  occasionally  made  trips  not  specifically  re- 
lated to  his  work,  sometimes  alone,  sometimes  with 
friends,  sometimes,  and  as  often  as  possible,  with 
part  or  all  of  his  family.  Every  journey  brought 
to  him  its  permanent  impressions  and  lessons.  He 
encouraged  his  fellow  workers  and  students  to  plan 
for  occasional  trips  to  new  sights  and  scenes,  regard- 
ing such  practice  as  an  added  equipment  for  use- 
fulness and  a  source  of  mental  and  spiritual  culture. 
He  made  but  one  trip  abroad,  attending,  in  1894, 
the  World's  Jubilee  Convention  of  the  Associations 
in  London,  England.  In  this  brief  trip  he  visited 
also  Scotland,  Ireland,  France,  Switzerland,  Ger- 
many, Belgium,  and  Holland.  For  this  journey  his 
preparations  were  most  thorough,  the  itinerary  and 
program  of  every  day  being  outlined  long  before 
sailing.  The  most  interesting  historical  and  scenic 
spots  were  visited,  his  keen  mind  rejoicing  in  the 
opportunity  and  privilege  of  such  a  trip  and  de- 
riving the  fullest  measure  of  information  and  in- 
spiration from  it.  His  letters  home  were  marvels 
of  concise,  vivid,  brilliant  description  and  narra- 
tion. He  saw  the  beautiful  wherever  he  went,  and 
he  saw  it  the  more  clearly  and  rejoiced  in  it  the  more 
abundantly  because  he  carried  so  much  of  it  with 
him  in  his  own  mind  and  heart. 

AS  A  WRITER  AND  EDITOR 

Throughout  his  nearly  four  decades  of  service,  he 
was  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  columns  of  the 


A  LOVER  OF  TRAVEL  115 

official  Association  paper,  first  known  as  The  Watch- 
man, later  as  The  Young  Men's  Era,  still  later  as 
Men,  and  finally  Association  Men.  His  literary  style 
was  always  attractive.  His  writings  were  clear,  con- 
cise, definite,  logical,  informing,  inspiring,  and 
strong  in  spiritual  appeal.  Articles  from  his  pen 
were  eagerly  sought  by  the  publishers  and  ab- 
sorbed by  secretaries  and  laymen.  He  always  gave 
careful  thought  and  frequently  substantial  blocks 
of  time  to  the  problems  of  the  Association  paper. 
When  its  reorganization,  change  in  name,  and  plan 
became  essential  to  its  continuance,  he  was  urgently 
requested  to  accept  the  responsibility  of  editor-in- 
chief.  He  responded  favorably,  putting  much  of 
his  finest  thought  and  editorial  skill  into  the  paper. 
Confidence  in  the  value  of  the  paper  to  the  move- 
ment was  greatly  strengthened  by  his  service,  and 
he  assisted  largely  in  establishing  it  on  a  new  and 
permanent  basis.  After  some  months  of  editorial 
leadership,  he  asked  for  relief  from  this  additional 
responsibility,  as  others  were  now  prepared  to  bear 
it  forcefully  and  efficiently  and  he  desired  to  give 
his  undivided  attention  to  the  state  work. 

This  was  another  of  his  great  contributions  to  the 
movement  as  a  whole. 

HIS   STRENGTH   IN   TRIAL 

His  broad  policies,  his  determination  to  keep  his 
work  at  full  tide  of  efficiency,  the  very  success  of 


116      THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

his  work,  brought  to  him,  from  some  sources,  as  it 
does  to  most  forceful  leaders  who  have  initiation 
and  courage,  some  measure  of  criticism  and  dissatis- 
faction. Strong-minded,  able  men  on  his  staff  did 
not  always  agree  with  him,  nor  were  they  always 
loyal  to  his  policies.  This  spirit  of  criticism  on  the 
part  of  a  few  came  to  a  climax  in  1908  and  1909. 
Throughout  this  period,  when  some  strong  friend- 
ships of  many  years  were  strained  and  in  one  case 
broken,  he  maintained  a  calm,  a  poise,  a  patient, 
kindly,  courteous  spirit  which  indicated  a  strength 
of  character  nothing  short  of  true  greatness.  He 
responded  promptly,  frankly,  fully  to  all  criticism, 
welcomed  and  assisted  in  all  inquiries.  The  out- 
come of  the  criticisms  was  an  emphatic  endorse- 
ment of  his  work,  by  those  in  authority,  his  policies 
being  sustained  as  wise,  economical  and  efficient  in 
achieving  results. 

Dr.  John  R.  Mott,  writing  in  the  January  1924 
Association  Forum  says: 

You  estimate  the  greatness  of  a  man  by  his  attitude 
and  spirit  when  under  fire.  On  the  one  hand,  if  one  is 
cowardly  in  the  face  of  attacks,  or  callous  or  oblivious 
to  charges  against  him,  or  manifests  a  disposition  to 
evade  the  implications  of  opposition,  you  make  up  your 
mind  that  he  is  a  weak  man  and  is  not  destined  to  true 
greatness.  On  the  other  hand,  if  a  man  brought  under 
fire  gives  prompt  heed  to  what  is  said  against  him,  wel- 
comes the  most  searching  inquiry,  shows  proof  that  he 
is  ready  to  act  upon  any  new  light,  cost  what  it  may, 


A  LOVER  OF  TRAVEL  117 

and  if  he  manifests  proper  and  righteous  indignation 
against  any  charges  which  are  the  result  of  unfairness 
or  animus,  we  recognize  in  such  a  life  solid  foundations, 
true  leadership,  and  a  life  which  will  expand  into  larger 
helpfulness. 

He  was  not  writing  of  Mr.  Brown  in  this  article, 
but  of  the  war-time  criticisms  of  the  Association, 
but  if  he  had  been  framing  these  sentences  with 
him  in  mind,  he  could  not  have  more  accurately  de- 
scribed the  solid  foundation  and  true  leadership 
which  characterized  his  whole  life  and  which  did 
expand  into  the  larger  helpfulness  of  his  last  years. 
There  was  no  fainting  in  the  day  of  adversity,  for 
his  strength  was  not  small,  and  in  his  abiding  faith 
he  went  from  strength  to  strength. 

HIS    GENEROUS    NATURE 

He  preferred  others  before  himself,  a  trait  mani- 
fested in  early  boyhood  and  continuing  throughout 
his  entire  life,  in  all  his  family,  business,  Associa- 
tion, and  church  relationships.  It  was  a  regular 
practice  with  him  to  deny  himself,  even  ordinary 
comforts,  that  he  might  do  for  others.  He  con- 
stantly spent  his  time,  strength,  means,  and  talent 
in  ways  which  demonstrated  the  absolute  unselfish- 
ness and  the  noble  generosity  of  his  nature.  No 
sacrifice  was  too  great  in  order  that  his  two  daugh- 
ters might  receive  college  degrees.  Throughout  the 
years  of  his  work  income  was  frequently  long  de- 


118       THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

layed,  but  he  always  saw  to  it  that  the  salaries  of 
his  staff  were  paid  in  advance  of  his  own,  regardless 
of  the  inconvenience  it  caused  him.  He  was  very 
systematic  and  generous  in  his  giving,  setting  aside 
never  less  than  a  tenth  and  usually  a  fifth  of  his 
entire  income  for  benevolences.  These  sacrifices, 
for  they  often  were  much,  brought  him  deep  joy. 
It  was  his  invariable  custom  to  make  liberal  gifts 
to  all  the  church  and  Association  agencies.  Wher- 
ever there  was  special  need  caused  by  flood,  famine, 
or  other  disaster,  he  was  prompt  to  send  check  for 
his  part,  often  not  waiting  to  be  asked. 

One  outstanding  act,  illustrating  his  generous 
spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  even  to  great  limits,  is  known 
to  but  few  and  may  be  recorded  here  to  demonstrate 
anew  to  his  friends  this  strong  trait  in  his  char- 
acter. The  business  of  a  close  family  connection 
being  in  peril,  following  one  of  the  periods  of  busi- 
ness depression,  Mr.  Brown  deliberately  mortgaged 
his  home  for  its  full  loan  value,  placing  the  funds 
therefrom  at  the  disposal  of  the  one  he  desired  to 
help,  risking  his  all  for  another  in  a  spirit  truly 
heroic.  Fortunately  his  action  saved  disaster,  and 
the  mortgage  was  later  paid  off.  Only  a  few  men 
would  ever  take  such  sacrificial  action,  but  he  had 
so  fully  absorbed  the  spirit  of  the  Christ  who  sac- 
rificed everything  for  others  that  it  was  perfectly 
natural  for  him  to  do  so,  and  gladly,  willingly  he 
took  the  risk  and  rendered  this  immeasurable  as- 
sistance where  it  was  needed. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

The  Closing  Years — Serving  the  Association 
College 

Taking  up  his  new  work  as  Dean  in  the  college 
was  not  to  him  a  radical  change,  for  he  had  been 
so  thoroughly  a  part  of  the  institution,  since  he,  its 
founder,  had  assembled  and  presided  over  the  open- 
ing session  of  the  little  group  of  students  and 
friends,  that  he  was  fully  at  home  in  every  phase 
of  its  activity,  whether  in  the  winter  sessions  in 
Chicago  or  the  summer  sessions  at  Lake  Geneva. 
Into  his  work  in  the  college,  new  and  yet  not  new, 
he  put  not  only  his  superior  talents,  his  ripe  experi- 
ence, his  mature  judgment,  but  also  the  finest  en- 
thusiasms of  his  life,  such  as  would  ordinarily  be 
expected  only  from  a  younger  man.  He  taught 
courses  in  Association  History,  Principles  and  Meth- 
ods, Christian  Evidences,  Business  Management  and 
other  subjects.  He  kept  his  courses  constantly  re- 
viewed and  revised  to  date.  He  took  his  full  part 
in  all  administrative  problems.  He  was  the  con- 
stant friend  and  advisor,  both  of  faculty  members 
and  students.  None  ever  sought  his  counsel  in  vain, 
and  it  was  constantly  sought  on  vitally  important 
problems  in  individual  life  and  organization  activi- 

119 


120      THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

ties.  All  the  athletic,  literary,  and  social  activities 
of  the  college  commanded  his  interest,  support,  and 
cooperation.  He  participated  in  all  the  various 
conferences  on  the  recruiting  and  education  of  men 
for  employed  officers.  He  represented  the  college 
frequently  at  state  conventions  and  other  confer- 
ences. He  carried  a  heavy  volume  of  work  during 
the  weeks  of  the  summer  session  at  Lake  Geneva 
and  added  to  it  courses  of  Bible  studies  and  many 
inspirational  and  devotional  addresses.  All  his  ex- 
ceptional qualities  as  a  teacher,  referred  to  in  the 
chapter  on  his  work  on  that  field,  were  utilized  in 
these  closing  years,  when  the  burden  of  his  effort 
was  not  administrative  and  executive,  but  to  teach 
those  who  were  to  become  teachers  and  leaders  of 
others. 

In  the  summer  of  1916,  his  last  at  Lake  Geneva, 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  college  conferred  upon 
him  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Association  Science, 
"in  recognition  of  eminent  service  as  organizer  and 
counsellor  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion movement." 

The  college  was  immeasurably  strengthened,  and 
the  faculty  and  four  generations  of  students  greatly 
benefited  by  his  invaluable  service  during  these 
evening  years  of  his  active,  fruitful  life.  The  sense 
of  loss  felt  by  all,  when  the  time  of  his  departure 
came,  was  exceedingly  great. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
A  Personal  Testimony 

For  nearly  twenty  of  his  thirty  years  in  the  state 
work,  the  writer  was  intimately  associated  with 
Mr.  Brown  as  a  member  of  his  staff.  Sir  Henry 
Stanley  said  of  David  Livingstone:  "For  four 
months  and  four  days  I  lived  with  him  in  the 
same  house  or  in  the  same  boat  or  in  the  same  tent, 
and  I  never  found  a  fault  in  him,  but  each  day's 
life  with  him  added  to  my  admiration  for  him." 
With  nearly  equally  close  contact,  and  through  a 
period  sixty  times  as  long,  my  mind  and  heart  offer 
similar  testimony  to  the  life  and  character  of  I.  E. 
Brown. 

The  following  testimony  was  written  soon  after 
his  death. 

During  those  years  I  was  brought  into  contact  with 
him  under  a  great  variety  of  circumstances.  I  have 
been  with  him  in  the  pressing  duties  of  daily  life  and 
in  the  quiet  of  his  home;  in  great  conventions  and  in 
personal  conferences;  in  large  cities  and  in  country 
towns;  in  business  interviews  and  social  gatherings;  in 
times  of  the  greatest  business  pressure  and  during  vaca- 
tions. I  have  been  with  him  in  hotels;  on  railroad 
trains;  on  ocean  steamers,  and  in  visiting  foreign  cities. 

121 


122      THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

I  have  been  with  him  in  joy  and  in  sorrow;  amid  suc- 
cesses, and  in  times  of  apparent  failure;  and  in  a  wide 
variety  of  social,  patriotic,  and  devotional  meetings.  I 
have  been  with  him  in  recreation,  particularly  as  a 
partner  or  as  an  opponent  in  the  fascinating  game  of 
tennis.  I  saw  him  occasionally  during  the  last  weeks 
of  his  life  when  he  was  battling  with  the  illness  from 
which  he  hoped  to  recover  for  more  years  of  usefulness. 
In  all  these  diversified  points  of  contact,  through  a  long 
period  of  years,  one  surely  would  come  to  know  him, 
his  motives  and  his  purposes  very  thoroughly. 

Under  all  these  varying  circumstances  and  throughout 
the  years,  he  was  always  kind,  patient,  generous,  and 
considerate;  he  was  always  calm,  gentle  and  well  poised; 
he  was  always  hopeful,  optimistic,  and  courageous;  he 
was  always  studious,  ambitious  for  the  highest  welfare 
of  others,  and  enthusiastic  in  his  chosen  life  work.  It 
was  with  a  rare  fidelity  that  he  devoted  his  life,  his 
strength,  and  his  talents  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  cause 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  Illinois  and 
later  to  the  Association  College.  His  faith  in  God  was 
strong  and  unwavering.  His  ideals  were  the  highest,  his 
purpose  the  most  noble.  His  life  record  is  that  of  the 
ideal  Christian  man,  and  the  true,  earnest,  devoted  ser- 
vant of  God.  Could  anything  greater  be  said?  He  has 
gone  to  a  great  reward  and  his  splendid  life  of  fruitful 
Christian  service  will  ever  be  held  in  most  grateful 
memory  by  tens  of  thousands,  not  only  in  Illinois,  but 
throughout  the  nation  and  world. 

Henry  van  Dyke  says: 

Most  writers  of  biographical  sketches  omit  failures 


A  PERSONAL  TESTIMONY 123 

and  weaknesses  and  mistakes  and  draw  liberally  upon 
imagination  in  emphasis  of  virtues. 

If  these  studies  apparently  omit  reference  to 
failures  and  weaknessses,  it  is  solely  because  many 
years  of  close  observation  revealed  none,  or  so  few 
as  to  be  negligible.  The  emphasis  herein  given  to 
virtues,  moreover,  is  based  wholly  upon  facts  and 
with  no  drawing  whatever  upon  imagination.  Van 
Dyke  also  says: 

A  tribute  to  the  memory  of  a  friend  must  be  full  of 
deep  and  warm  affection  if  it  would  express  in  any 
measure  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  many  who  knew 
him  personally  in  the  crowded  pilgrimage  of  life. 

This  simple  tribute  to  the  memory  of  a  great  man 
is  made  with  a  full  measure  of  sincere  affection, 
and  with  the  hope  that  it  expresses  to  some  extent 
the  feelings  of  the  thousands  who  knew  him  and 
were  helped  to  become  stronger  and  more  useful 
men  through  his  wonderful  example  and  influence. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

Summary — a  Remarkable  Life 

This  incomplete  review  of  the  character,  person- 
ality, and  life  work  of  Isaac  Eddy  Brown  indicates 
something  of  his  great  usefulness,  his  wonderful  in- 
fluence, and  his  fruitful  service  to  his  generation  in 
a  great  Christian  calling.  His  record  of  achieve- 
ment in  the  realm  of  his  own  physical,  mental,  and 
spiritual  life,  and  of  service  to  his  fellow  men,  can 
be  equalled  by  but  few  men.  We  see  him,  fortunate 
in  his  parentage  and  ancestry,  but  depending  not 
on  any  inheritance,  save  only  the  love  for  hard 
work;  we  see  him  as  a  lad,  industrious,  studious, 
serious  minded  and  purposeful,  developing  a  nor- 
mal, active  religious  life;  we  see  him  manifesting 
all  these  traits  of  his  youth  throughout  the  years 
of  his  educational  preparation,  acquiring  an  educa- 
tion in  the  spirit  of  earnest  practical  preparation 
for  life's  responsibilities.  Also  we  see  him  as  a 
skilful  leader  in  community  life,  particularly  in 
matters  educational  and  religious;  we  see  him 
through  years  of  service  in  a  responsible  executive 
position,  requiring  courage,  ability,  and  efficient 
methods  of  organization  in  carrying  forward  a  great 
constructive  task  for  character  building  and  moral 

124 


SUMMARY— A  REMARKABLE  LIFE        125 

welfare.  In  his  private  life  we  see  him  as  a  genial, 
warm-hearted  personality,  manifesting  the  spirit  of 
good  will  in  all  contacts;  we  see  how  bravely  and 
heroically  he  met  sorrow  and  bereavement,  deriving 
from  them  spiritual  comfort  and  assurance;  we  see 
his  great  devotion  to  his  field  of  service  and  his 
interested  service  to  other  fields  reaching  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth;  we  see  him  as  an  in- 
tensely practical  man,  filled  with  sentiment  but  free 
from  sentimentality,  far  sighted,  systematic,  a  wise 
planner  for  the  future,  able  to  work  hard  without 
becoming  a  slave  to  overwork,  able  to  use  recreation 
wisely  and  for  physical,  mental,  and  spiritual  in- 
vigoration;  we  see  something  of  the  beauty  of  his 
ideal  home  life  with  its  prevailing  spiritual  at- 
mosphere and  its  unbounded,  genuine,  purposeful 
hospitality,  always  a  center  of  culture,  inspiration, 
good  cheer  and  kindly  ministry  to  others,  particu- 
larly the  lonely;  we  see  him  as  a  loyal  citizen,  al- 
ways prepared  and  willing  cheerfully  to  carry  his 
full  share  and  more,  of  collective  responsibility;  as 
a  faithful  member  and  officer  in  the  church,  as  a 
helpful  friend  and  wise  counsellor  in  all  problems, 
especially  those  pertaining  to  the  religious  life,  to 
life  callings,  and  to  organizations  carrying  on  Chris- 
tian service.  We  see  something  of  his  intellectual 
achievements  and  his  constant  mental  culture 
through  reading,  study,  travel,  and  contact  with 
leaders  in  thought  and  action;  we  see  his  initiative 
and  statesmanship  in  creating  new  work  and  in 


126      THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN 

founding  institutions,  destined  to  meet  a  great  need 
in  his  chosen  field;  we  see  his  exceptional  power 
in  public  speech,  his  strength  in  trial,  his  remark- 
ably generous  nature,  his  rare  devotion  to  the  high- 
est ideals,  his  ability  to  carry  convictions  into  daily 
life  and  practice. 

But  greater  than  are  those,  we  see  the  beauty,  the 
breadth,  the  depth,  the  strength,  the  sincerity  of 
his  religious  life;  we  come  to  know  him  as  a  man 
of  faith  and  prayer  and  spiritual  courage,  who  gave 
his  time,  talent,  and  strength  unreservedly  to  the 
cause  of  Christian  character  building  among  young 
men ;  who  gave  a  full  measure  of  devotion,  through 
a  long  life,  to  the  Christ  whom  he  loved  and  served. 
His  deeply  spiritual  nature  manifested  itself  in 
every  phase  of  his  life  and  work.  His  emphasis 
upon  the  religious  life  and  the  development  of 
agencies  of  religious  service  was  both  strong  and 
constant.  He  frequently  said  in  classroom  and  in 
public  address:  "The  work  that  I  do  I  shall  be 
separated  from  some  day,  but  the  man  that  I  am 
will  go  with  me  through  eternity."  The  separation 
from  work  though  meant  only  the  ceasing  of  earthly 
labors,  for  he  found  constant  and  almost  unbounded 
joy  in  the  assurance  that  he  was  spending  his  life 
in  work  which  would  abide  forever.  An  equally 
frequent  and  favorite  expression  was,  "I  shall  meet 
my  work  in  the  eternal,  where  the  banker  sees  not 
his  money,  nor  the  merchant  his  merchandise."  In 
that  faith  and  assurance,  he  lived  and  worked.   His 


SUMMARY— A  REMARKABLE  LIFE       127 

great  personality  has  been  woven  into  the  entire 
fabric  of  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 
Through  half  a  century  he  has  been  a  leading  factor 
in  making  the  history  of  the  Association  and  all 
its  organized  agencies — local,  state,  international 
and  world,  and  especially  the  Association  College. 
Wherever  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
exists  and  wherever  its  beneficent  work  shall  be  ex- 
tended, his  memory  will  be  cherished  and  his  name 
loved  and  honored.  He  has  stood  preeminently  for 
a  consecrated,  educated,  professionally  trained  lead- 
ership in  every  position  of  Association  service,  and 
for  the  supremacy  of  the  spiritual  life  and  the  vital 
importance  of  the  religious  spirit  permeating  every 
phase  of  the  Association  work.  His  ideals  were  the 
very  highest,  and  he  lived  up  to  and  attained  them 
in  a  way  which  makes  his  memory  a  constant  in- 
spiration to  the  many  thousands  who  knew  him, 
and  they  will  likewise  inspire  future  generations. 
The  record  of  his  altogether  beautiful  and  service- 
able life  should  strengthen  the  higher  purposes  of 
every  reader  and  send  him  forth  to  larger  useful- 
ness and  greater  achievement  in  Christian  service. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

B.B7872B  C001 

THE  LIFE  OF  ISAAC  EDDY  BROWN;  NY 


3  0112  025404846 


